Sand, Blood, and Fire
by TrinityVex34
Summary: Cinder, Adam, Ilia, and Blake are thrusted into the Mojave with only one thing to do, survive. How will they survive this adversarial environment? Will their viewpoints be changed, or reinforced?
1. Beginnings

Hello! I return from the depths of editing and bring you the newest (And hopefully final) Iteration of Sand Blood and Fire! With EXTREME help from JKrlin in regards to editing, consistent accurate character portray and MUCH MUCH MORE, I bring you the first chapter

* * *

War… War never changes.

Throughout the centuries of human advancement and development, the instruments of war evolved from crudely constructed weapons into efficient killing machines. As the fighting continued, so did death. Then, the world was forever changed on October 23rd, 2077. The era of advanced civilization was replaced with the ruins of civilization trying not to become just another civilization lost to time. The people of pre-war America went from war saturated people, to wastelanders, just trying to survive.

Many survivors of the Great War were unwillingly transformed into creations that were no longer traditional humans. Ghouls, Super Mutants, Centaurs, the Master; some even turned into human-vegetation hybrids. Some of these new minorities formed isolated communities, so that they could survive in the inhospitable wastelands.

Then, there were those who sought to rebuild the world. The New California Republic, Caesar's Legion, and many more. Each trying to restore the world back to what it was, each in a different way. Caesar's Legion seeks to create a stable and hierarchical structure to stabilize the increasing instability of the Mojave, while the New California Republic strives to restore the values of a democratic republic to the world.

However, the Mojave is about to receive unusual visitors that will forever change it. The sands of the wasteland are starting to shift in drastic ways by the machinations of these new arrivals. This desert wasteland teeters on the brink of total war. These new visitors will take advantage of this conflict that is brewing between the two major forces that are warring over the Mojave, carving their own paths through this treacherous wasteland.

* * *

Cinder Fall is a self-imposed slave to Salem, the Mistress of all Grimm. Cinder has killed without pause for thought all her life, and even enjoyed savoring the blood she's drawn. Now, she will find herself in the relentless depths of the Mojave Wasteland. In this expansive, unmerciful desert, she will, for the first time in her long despicable life, learn what it means to be free of her chains.

Cinder awoke to find herself lying in a vast, expansive desert. There was nothing but sand and sky in sight. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises - scars and injuries from the Rose's attack on her. Her legs started to shake violently, her muscles were all but exhausted, and she thought that she would surely succumb to death by fatigue.

It was only after two hours of trial and failure did she manage to regain the use of her legs. From there, Cinder rose to her feet. She decided to pick a direction to walk and just keep on moving in that direction. She didn't know how long she must have been walking, but she knew that she had to keep moving to survive. Damn it all if Cinder was going to die unceremoniously in a barren desert of all places.

As she trekked through the sandy covered continuent, the heat began to bear down on her as she began to sweat profusely. She couldn't lose this much through perspiration if she wanted to live.

She could see a single, lone structure in the distance. Could it be real, or was it just a mirage? She didn't have time to debate herself on the matter. She had to take that chance.

Cinder slowly walked towards the structure in the distance. As she got closer, the structure's image began to sharpen.

Cinder reached the single-story building, basking in its shade for a cool reprieve from the desert's scorching sun. She sat down and rested for a while before entering the deserted building. It appeared to be an abandoned gas station. Its windows were broken with scattered pieces of glass on the floor. The pumps were dried up, and there were no vehicles around to be fueled. Furthermore, there was no sign of any recent inhabitants in this rundown structure.

'Could this be Vacuo?' Cinder pondered as she looked around her. It was certainly a desert, but there was no sign of grimm, humans, or faunus. Again, that was something that was not out of place for an expansive, barren desert. What did worry her was the style of the architecture. She had traveled to Vacuo once and took note of the type of architecture that would be the most practical in a desert landscape, and the road she had found and the gas station she was looking through looked nothing like that type of structural design. That alone was not definitive proof that she wasn't in Vacuo, however. Just a hint.

She rose from her resting place and cautiously strolled into the convenience store. She scanned the shelves; no food or drinks to be found. She moved from the doorway of the store and patrolled around the counter. She only found a few discarded bottle caps and moved on to the back room of the shop.

As she slowly opened the door, a large, naturally armor-plated scorpion which had large, sharp pincers that had barbs on the inside of said pincers. Its stinger was in the form of a sharp fishing hook. Its stinger was rapidly jabbing in front of it, as if it were taking in its surroundings. The creature's large, sharp pincers lunged at her, stabbing her in the right arm with its stinger. She swiftly staggered back to avoid another strike from the scorpion. Cinder scuttled over to the counter where she found a rusty pipe to fight off her assailant.

She could hear her foe's multiple feet crawling across the floor of the store. She tightly gripped the pipe with her left hand, readying herself for the fight. She waited until it was close enough, then swung the pipe down on the creature's carapace as it charged her in retaliation, stabbing her in the stomach with its stinger. She backed off, swinging once more at the creature as it continued to advance towards her. Cinder had little time to react before her heels were caught in the clutches of the scorpion's pincers.

She screamed in pain, aiming for a more brutal approach with her tactic. She began to savagely beat the scorpion's body over and over again as all of her senses began to dull as her adrenaline started to kick in. She continued to bash the body of the wasteland creature; However, she failed to realize that the scorpion was repeatedly stabbing her in the arms and legs as its grip began to tighten further. Cinder moved to one of the pincers, bashing the arm with the pipe until the limb exploded with blood and flesh flying everywhere, the remaining grip on her other leg beginning to tighten and its rapid stabs with its stinger ceased. It still persisted its relentless strikes against Cinder, ramming its body into her, trying to knock her to the ground. She took five large steps back, readying herself for another barrage of attacks on the giant insectoid creature. She gripped tightly on pipe in one hand and readied another fireball in the other. As it began to form, it only grew to half the size of the previous one.

'Interesting. So it seems I have a limited reserve of magic to draw upon, for now at least.' As Cinder pondered on her recent discovery, she noticed the scorpion backing up for another ramming attack. She launched her fireball towards her foe, once again lighting it on fire. She rushed it before it had time to respond, delivering a powerful blow to the head of the armored monstrosity. It squirmed with a pained scream before it finally let go of life as its once energetic body was now lying motionless on the floor of the convenience store.

Cinder inspected her wounds, mentally cursing herself for not being careful enough in her battle. 'Salem would have had me lashed for such impotence,' Cinder thought as her mind conjured up ways to possibly slow down the spreading of the lethal poison

She went back to the back room of the store to find a bottle of water kept nice and cool by a barely functional refrigerator and a single box of apples that appeared to be heavily preserved with multiple chemicals that laid on the floor of the pantry. Both of them were quickly grabbed and consumed, Cinder slowly drank the water, making sure to savor every drop of the cool beverage. After that, she ate the Dandy Boy Apples, making sure to save a few for the road ahead. She had no idea where she was and no idea of how long it would take her to reach a settlement in Vacuo.

As she started to get up from her seated position to leave the building, she looked back at the scorpion with a look of annoyance. 'I'm not going to die today.' She thought as she looked off into the distance. Once she was outside she looked back at the dead scorpion as her stomach grumbled with hunger. 'Should I?' Cinder questioned as she continued to look at the dead creature. 'It could be days, even weeks before I get another chance like this…' she contemplated. 'I should be cautious' Cinder thought as she moved back into the store and began to open the shell of the scorpion with a crack. She pulled the meat out of the scorpion's carapace, holding it her hand and cooking the raw meat in her hand as a small flame started to form in her palm. Once it was cooked to her liking, she started to eat the meat of the creature to fill her stomach. Once she was full, Cinder moved on from the store and continued her walk into the desert, making sure to grab the rusted pipe that saved her life on her way out.

The rest of the day passed without much incident. She managed to find a cave to sleep in for the night. She dozed off, thinking of Salem and how she would be punished for taking so long to arrive back at her palace. Then her mind shifted towards the girl that nearly killed her back at the Tower of Beacon. She was lucky she survived the girl's powers. The rest of her sleep was filled with wonderful nothingness. For Cinder, this was a great thing, nothing to worry over, just rest from the world and its insanity. Her morning, however, would not be so pleasant.

Cinder was awoken by the sounds of gunshots and snarls from outside the cave. Her head shot up from the soft, sand covered floor that she was resting on. Next came a feeling of nausea that hit her like a bag of bricks as she threw up everything she had ate the day before. 'Well there goes my energy.' Cinder thought sarcastically as she puked up the rest of the food that was held within her stomach. 'Must have been that scorpion meat…' Cinder assumed as she finished bending over, the contents of her stomach now strewn across the floor of the cave. She grabbed the rest of her Dandy Boy Apples and her pipe, preparing to leave her place of rest once the sounds from the outside ceased. She waited for what seemed like an hour for the noises to stop, but they never did. She decided to peek out of the cave to see what exactly was happening. As she slowly poked her head out of entrance of the cave, seeing what was happening.

There was a group of three human, men by the look of their figures, who appeared to be dressed in leather armor with a few ammo slings and belts were equipped on their chests. They were fighting off a group of coyotes. Cinder decided to lay low and wait for them to pass. Then she would move on.

Cinder was caught off guard by the coyotes' efficiency at dispatching the men. They were only a quarter of the size of your average grimm, and yet they had taken out the group. She watched as they tore off the exposed flesh from the men's' bodies, devouring it with ferocious speed. She decided to let the coyotes move on, and once she was in the clear, she would retrieve any supplies and weapons they had on them.

As she continued to watch the coyotes eat, a few of them started raising their snouts up to the sky and started to sniff in her general direction, as they did so, the remaining coyotes followed suit, inching towards her position. It was only then that she realized that this was their den, and that she had been staying in what was essentially their home.

She tightly clutched the iron pipe in her hand as she prepared for the second battle in the past two days. She felt her other hand become engorged in heat, looking over at it to see a large flame in the palm of her hand.

'Could I?' Cinder thought, opening her palm as a fireball unleashed itself upon the hoard of coyotes. The closest back off, but the rest continued their advance, this time a bit faster. 'Shit.' She cursed mentally, trying to think quickly on her feet. She counted at least twenty in the pack that continued the advance. Then, all at once, they pounced in an attempt to dog-pile Cinder. She swung erratically, eliminating five members of the pack, the remaining fifteen continuing their attack. She kicked away four more and and lit three on fire, continuously firing fireballs at the offending coyotes. 'At least there aren't more threats…' Cinder thought.

Then, as if to solely prove the pyromancer wrong, a loud roar emanated from the entrance of the cave. Then, a large, lumbering figure stomped into the cave. As it approached her, a shiver shot down her spine as a look of horror graced her face. It was a large creature which had foot-long claws and sharp spinal spikes running down its back. It swiped the remaining nine coyotes to the side, sending enormous gashes on their sides and bellies, walking straight towards Cinder.

The monstrosity stopped, only for a quick second, to look Cinder in the eyes before taking her life. Then, it raised its claws and swung. Cinder, for the first time in her life, was paralyzed in fear. No grimm could match the pure horror of this creature. She definitely wasn't in Vacuo anymore. Could she be in the desert of Menagerie? The large island was known to be inhabited by monstrosities that made the desolate place their homeland. The only thing she could do was send a volley of fireballs at the abomination. However, they all missed, as the adrenaline that started to course through her veins filled her with energy that had nowhere else to go. She tightly gripped her arm to steady it and fire more fireballs, at this point, she had been hit once by the creature and was bleeding out, fast. She ripped part of her dress to use it as a bandage for her newly received wounds. She hid behind a large bend in the cave from the monstrosity that stalked her. She started to sprint through the cave, the natural light dying out, the only source that she had now was the flame engulfing her hand.

She didn't bother looking behind her, as it would be a waste of energy and focus. She needed to find a second exit, which she hopped to the gods existed. For once in the past two days, her prayer was answered as a small light appeared in front of her. She heard the thumping of the creature's footsteps behind her, but she refused to look over her back as she pushed forward, going from a fast jog to a full out sprint. She wouldn't stop until she was either dead or was unable to move a single muscle in her body. She took one more shot at the haunting beast, firing a fireball at it, lighting it's thick hide on fire. It howled in pain, giving Cinder the needed window to escape with her life.

The pyromancer, once she was a safe distance away from the beast, looked back at the cave, nothing but desert surrounding it. 'Well that settles that.' Cinder thought as she started to walk in the same direction she was running.

She continued to walk until sundown, where this time, she had no shelter. All she had was an unused fire pit and a log for a makeshift bench. She launched a small fireball into the fire pit, a large flame growing in front of her. It was then that Cinder felt a strong tinge of pain strike through her body and collapsed as a wave of pain coursed through her. She was exerting a lot of energy just trying to keep her eyes open.

'It must have been that scorpion's poison in action,' Cinder though as the pain continued to increase. 'Why did it take so long to take effect?' Cinder pondered as she could hear the faint sound of footsteps in the distance. 'Must have been delayed since I puked up my food, but now since I've started eating again, the poison must be becoming more potent.'

The sounds of footsteps got louder as her her body collapsed from exhaustion. The last thing she heard were the same footsteps getting even closer and the sound of a man's voice, however she couldn't make out what he was saying.

Right before her eyes shut she looked up at the night sky and found something very strange, something that told her she wasn't on Remnant anymore. A full moon. No fragments, just a full, whole moon, shining down on her and the desert floor.

* * *

Blake Belladonna and Ilia Amitola, two faunus girls who were once friends, both of them wanting the equality for their people so that the faunus can be on par with the humans of their world. Now, however, their friendship has become sour and distant, neither of them talking to the other for years. As they spend time in the Mojave, their resolve both their idealistic dreams and their conflicting loyalties will be tested.

Blake continued to stare at the full moon, looking on in awe and splendor at the monolith's form.

"Blake! Where are you?" Ilia called out, trying to locate her lost friend. "Blake?!"

"I'm coming!" Blake shouted in response as she hopped down from the cliff she was seated on, down to where the two had made camp for the night.

"I've managed to find some food scattered around here, but not without running into the local wildlife," Ilia said as she handed Blake a box of Junk Food. They both ate in relative silence as the sound of cicadas filled the night's air.

"Have you been able to find anything about where we are?" Ilia asked with a look of hope in her eyes. She was concerned as to where they were and how long it might be before they could head home.

"Yea… but you might not like it…" Blake said turning away from her friend with a hesitant tone. She always had feared being away from home, but now she wasn't even in Remnant anymore, more or less Menagerie.

"Well, what is it?!" Ilia asked with excitement, hoping the news would be of some interest. She, for lack of a better word, was smitten with Blake. Ever since Adam gained her affection, she was unable to get the affection that Blake gave to him, but now with just her and Blake, that could very well change.

"We aren't on Remnant anymore." Blake calmly explained to her old friend. "When I was up there, I was looking up at the moon. It isn't shattered or even broken, its whole."

"We… aren't on Remnant anymore?" Ilia asked as disbelief overtook her. She had never left Menagerie, but now? She wasn't even on the world she had lived in her entire life.

"Yes. Wherever we are, it's not in Remnant." Blake reassured her old friend. "But I'm sure if we stick together we'll be fine.

"That's bad, we need to get back!" Ilia said as disbelief turned into desperation and her tone turned from confused to frantic.

"I know, but right now we don't have a way to do that. Let's just try and survive for now." Blake said as she moved over to her makeshift bed of sticks and leaves. Ilia nodded and did the same as they both fell asleep.

The next morning, they got up and moved on through the mountains that they were in. The two of them grabbed their weapons and began the long day's journey.

They walked the trails and paths that curved and sways around the mountains. The mountain walls were painted with odd figures and creatures covering it. Ilia took in the expansive landscape and the nearly non-existent weather. The only indication of anything other than clear skies was the occasional cloud. Every forty five minutes the two of them would take a break to rest. They could hear the occasional howl in the distance, but nothing worthy as addressing as a danger.

Blake's ears picked up some faint noises in the distance as they neared the bend of a trail that snaked around a mountain. She motioned for Ilia to hug the body of the mountain as they continued to scale it at a slower pace than before. As they got higher and higher, the noise got louder and louder until it was right on top of them.

"Blake," Ilia whispered, "look up very slowly." As Blake lifted her head up to face the source of the noise, she saw a fur-covered feline which was displaying its fangs with a threatening growl. It was perched just above her on a large outcrop of rock. There was only a foot between her and irradiated bobcat. She tried to look away from its eyes, but something about it kept her staring at it with a mix of shock, horror, and awe. It started to crouch down bearing its claws, preparing to pounce.

"Blake! Stop looking at it!" Ilia whispered with concern, but her friend did not heed her warning. Instead, she began to take out Gamble Shroud from its sheath, getting ready for combat. The rad-cat pounced in front of her, blocking the two faunus' path forward. Ilia took out her weapon, although there wasn't much she could do without hitting Blake. The feral creature began to slowly advance, forcing Blake to back off. She watched it, waiting for it to pounce once more. when it did, she would impale it with Gamble Shroud. It began to crouch again, signaling another pounce, but this time it began to growl and slowly back away. It was at this moment that Ilia noticed the heavy breaths hitting the back of her neck.

She slowly turned around with shock and horror to find a giant, black bear looming over her. She had been so focused on the rad-cat, that she failed to realize the threat directly behind her. The lumbering beast roared, swiping at Ilia with its large claws, smashing her against the mountain wall. Her vision began to fade as she saw Blake charge the Yao Guai and stab it through the head. The last thing she saw was Blake running up to her as everything went to black.

She woke up the next morning in a cave, where Blake had set out a small breakfast for the two of them. Ilia could see a look of relief on her friend's face as she saw her wake up.

"Thank goodness you're alright," Blake said as she handed her friend a piece of cooked meat. She took it and began to eat it. It was only after she had finished eating that she realized just how hungry she was. Her hunger was satisfied as she ate two more chunks of cooked meat.

"What happened after I blacked out?" Ilia asked, wiping her chin with her sleeve.

"Well, I carried you on my back for about two miles, then I set up camp here for the night. After that, I made us something to sleep on, and now it's morning." Blake smiled.

"Alright, should we get going?" Ilia asked as she rose from her seated position.

"Yea, we shouldn't waste any daylight," Blake said as she grabbed their weapons, handing Ilia hers as they exited the cave. It only took them five hours until they began to reach the smaller mountains, a flat landscape could be seen in the distance. Its land littered with specks of concrete, wood and metal. Those specks were the many buildings that littered the Mojave Wasteland. The two of them could make out a cluster of structures that were bigger than the others, that same cluster glowing brighter than the other buildings and structures that were in the Mojave. Both of them took seat on the top of a mountain to enjoy the beautiful view.

"What do you think of this world, Blake?" Ilia asked, looking to her friend for a response.

"I – I don't quite know what to make of it yet. What do you think?" Blake asked, deflecting the question onto Ilia.

"Well, let's just say the first impressions weren't that good," Ilia said with a lighthearted chuckle. The two of them laughed for a short time before moving on to their next trail. This once was on the ground, a welcomed change from the high altitudes of the mountain paths. As they trekked through the thick foliage of the forests below, Ilia and Blake began to pick some fruit from the trees. While they were in the mountains they had to subsist on meat and water, but in the forest, they had access to berries and fruits that they had never seen before. As a cat faunus, Blake was mostly a carnivore when it came to her eating habits, very similar to Ilia, who was a chameleon faunus. Blake had learned during her time at Beacon, that faunus often have the same diet as their animal counterparts, thus the reason for the diverse array of options at the Beacon cafeteria.

Once the two of them finished picking the fruits and berries, they continued to move on to through the trial. As they moved, the two of them could hear multiple voices in the distance. As they got closer the sources of the voices began clear. There were four people, three humans and one, large blue figure which wore a straw hat. The three normal humans were taunting the blue figure, as she had her leg in an unnatural position that both Blake and Ilia knew, with their minimalist medical expertise, wasn't healthy for the creature. A part of the bone was jutting out from under the kneecap, popping out from the side of the knee.

"Ha! She can't even get up to swing at us," one of the men shouted with laughter as he held a combat knife in his left hand. "How pathetic!"

"We should just put her out of her misery!" another one sneered, aiming his rifle at her head. Blake and Ilia watched as the blue human shielded her head with her arms in fear.

"Yea!" the third one cheered on. He had a pistol which was safely strapped to his hilt.

Witnessing this scene began to remind Blake as to why she joined the White Fang. The unending cruelty of the humans towards the Faunus. Watching the humans whip, kick, hit, and cut the faunus slaves as they worked to the bone. She remembered how the faunus were forced to fight a war for their freedom and even then they were given the short end of the stick. It even brought back memories of watching as young faunus children were beaten by adult and adolescent humans.

"We have to do something!" Ilia whispered to Blake, so as not to catch the attention of the three humans.

"Alright," Blake agreed, a plan quickly forming in her head. "We need to get them away from her. Ilia, can you disarm the guy with the knife? I'll go for the one with the rifle."

"Yea, just give me a thumbs up as the signal," Ilia said, stealthily moving to the other side of the humans. Once she was in position, Blake gave a thumbs up and the two of them leapt into action. Ilia cracked her whip, striking the man's knife out of his hand. Blake slashed the barrel of the second man's rifle. The third reached for his pistol, only for Ilia to zap him in the back of the neck, rendering him incapacitated. The remaining two held their hands up defensively, not wanting a fight.

"Get away from her, and never return." Ilia snarled, turning a dark shade of red, the scavengers running off in terror, taking their unconscious friend with them.

"Are you ok?" Blake asked as she took out some medical supplies she had found while scavenging.

"Thank you, dearies! Those scavengers were going to harm poor, old Lily!" Lily said with an appreciate tone as Blake started to tend to her broken leg.

"No problem. We have a history of not being the popular ones in a group." Ilia said, facing Lily with a warm smile as she helped Blake to tend to Lily's leg.

"Hey, Lily," Blake said to the sweet creature. "Do you live around here?"

"Why of course, dearie!" Lily reassured, like a grandmother talking to her grandchildren. "It's just up the road! It's called Jacobstown."

"Are there others like you who live there?" Ilia asked, receiving a nod from the nightkin. "Blake, we should try and see if we can live there." Ilia whispered to Blake.

Blake frowned, not entirely on board with Ilia's plan. "What makes you think they'll take us in?" Blake asked, continuing to treat the wound that Lily has sustained.

"Well, we are currently helping one of their townspeople, not to mention what we are. Remember how the faunus were treated back in Remnant? Her people are like this world's faunus." Ilia reasoned, getting the support from Blake as she finished patching up Lily's leg.

* * *

Adam Taurus is the leader of the Vale branch of the White Fang, a pro-Faunus rights group. Over time, the White Fang steadily devolved from a once peaceful protest movement that was seized by violent ideologues. He believes he fights for a right and just cause against a cruel, barbaric, bigoted society. When he is thrusted into the wastes of the Mojave, he will find that humanity is capable of far greater transgressions, but also capable of far better things, as well.

"So, human," Adam sneered, "how are your fellow comrades treating you?"

"Better than they're treating you, that's for sure," the medic shot back.

A strange looking human was stitching Adam's gashes on his legs. He had obtained those injuries and many more when he had first arrived in this world. He arrived near an NCR outpost that was at the top of a hill. The second one of the humans aimed their rifles at him and ordered him to state his business, Adam retaliated with a swift decapitation of that soldier. The ruthless act wasn't taken well, as everyone in the outpost, from soldier or trader, started aiming for his arms and legs. Most of them missed their shots, but a certain pale sharpshooter managed to shoot him through the knees then the elbows. Adam, preferring death to capture by humans, tried to escape, rolling himself down the hill which is where he got the large gashes that were now sealed. As he rolled down the hill, he slashed his legs on some rusted metal of a vehicle. Once he hit the bottom, four soldier were dispatched to retrieve him. After that, he was sent to Camp Forlorn Hope as a prisoner of war.

Adam snapped at him as a surge of pain coursed through his nerves. The medic was half a foot taller than Adam, and his irradiated skin took on a dark red color, as if it was stained with blood. He had eyes that were beautiful dark green, and showed that he had endured more than words could explain.

The older soldiers patrolling the outpost would either ignore Adam or stare at his horns, some childish fools even trying to touch them. However, none got close enough. The only people he would allow to touch his horns were the medic and the medic's assistant.

The former of which was having a chat with the bull faunus.

"So, Adam, why are you so resentful of humans?" the medic, who had introduced himself as Adrian, asked casually as he sat down at a table that Adam sat at.

"Why don't you tell me first, human?" Adam spat at the medic.

"I'm not a human. I'm a ghoul. And for the record, don't talk down to me like some child." Adrian crossed his arms with frustration. "I'm ten times your age. I've lived for more than two hundred years, so show some respect."

"I'll show you respect once you earn it," Adam said with spite. As if an individual with Adrian's charred skin could survive a long life and hardships for two hundred years.

"Hm. Well, if you're not going to show respect, then there's nothing I can do about it. However, there are many things I know that I'm sure you're curious about."

Adam pondered on the many questions he had about this world. If the full moon that shone overnight was anything to go by, this wasn't Remnant. The other clue that he wasn't on his Remnant was the self-proclaimed 'ghoul' treating his injuries. His skin was flaky and chipped, giving the appearance of the bottom of a dried out lake. Never within the recorded history of Remnant had a human such as this been discovered. He had to know how this had happened.

"How did you become like this?" Adam gestured vaguely to Adrian's person. "The scars, the cracked skin. It can't be natural."

Adrian looked up to Adam from the current wound he was treating and gave Adam a look of a pained frown before answering the question. "I was turned into a ghoul by an extreme amount of radiation. Not enough to kill me, but enough to make me what you say before you."

"Radiation? I've never heard of a weapon like that," Adam said with a frown on his face.

"It's not a weapon itself. It's just an echoing remnant from a certain type of weapon that was used against my squad," Adrian explained.

"What type of weapon can hold so much power to scar a man's entire body but keep him alive for so long?"

"A kind of weapon that should never have been created," Adrian responded with a solemn tone as he took swig of whiskey. On that note, Adam decided to go a bit more personal with the human that was with him.

Adam rubbed his chin casually before asking another question. "Where am I exactly?"

"You're in a medical tent," Adrian replied in a terse manner.

"That much is obvious. Care to tell me where I am in more broad scope?"

"We're in Camp Forlorn Hope which is in the Mojave Wasteland," Adrian clarified.

Adam frown with disappointment. He wasn't familiar with either of the places mentioned. He only knew two things, that this was a military camp and that the Mojave was a desert.

"I'm a ghoul who was once a human in the ranks of the NCR," Adrian said with a bored look on his face. "If you're wondering why, let's just say I have a personal vendetta that I could easily fulfill by joining up with them."

Adam was finally getting some semblance of this group that had him in shackles. "What is your job in this NCR?"

"I help treat the wounded and train more medics for the ranks," Adrian explained to the captive.

"A medicine man. Useful." Even for all of Adam's posturing and call for militant action with the White Fang, doctors and medics were integral tools that kept the fight going. "So can you fight as well?"

"I'm not all that enthused about hurting people, which is why I became a medic in the first place," Adrian answered with a stern look on his face.

"Surely you know something with regards to combat if you're supposed to heal warrior."

Adrian had an unimpressed look on his face. He had no intention of being goaded into reckless, emotion-fueled action by Adam."I know how to fight. I merely made the decision to help people instead of hurt them."

"A pacifist."

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

The question that Adrian posed to Adam gave him pause. He didn't necessarily have a problem with it. Adrian was still helping out the cause he saw as right. He just wasn't killing for it. Instead he was helping those that were. "No problems. Only curiosity," Adam answered with a hint of sarcasm. "Why did you turn to pacifism?"

Adrian responded with a visible pause before answering. "I've seen too many good men and women die in a war that never needed to be fought."

"So you wish to end a war?" Adam questioned as he started to ask more about the world he was in. "And who is this war against?"

"The Legion."

Adam needed more than a name. He needed info. "And what makes them a threat?"

"Their tactics. If they know they can win face to face, they'll do it, but if they can't, they'll resort to guerrilla warfare. Ambushing out patrols, raiding our camps, sieging the settlements we were supposed to protect. They won't stop until they achieve their ultimate goal."

Adrian cleared his throat, taking a swig from his flask before elborating. "To capture Hoover Dam. After that, New Vegas, and then the rest of New California."

It sounded like the Legion was out to take over the world. It's one thing to conquer the world. Maintaining your rule over it is another matter.

"In my opinion," Adrian continued, "this whole war for the Dam is waste of good soldiers and an even larger waste of time. So many good men and women died in the first battle for it against the Legion. We managed to make a tactical retreat and lay a trap for them in Boulder City, killing a large number of their forces."

"So you fled with your tails between your legs and forced them back with a counter attack. Where are they based now?"

"The other side of the Dam," Adrian said, shaking his head.

Adam was unimpressed. "So you were unable to take the entire Dam?"

Adrian chuckled with amusement. "You say that now, but you should see the size of it. It's not some junk wall. Hell, the thing has survived more than four hundred years from what I know."

"So you were able to retake some of the Dam?"

"Yes, some of it. The Legion managed to keep about the closest quarter of the Dam that was near their main camp," Adrian explained to his patient. "However, the Legion have taken up other tactics to slowly cut us down. They've become far more dangerous after the first battle for Hoover Dam."

After hearing about this Legion, Adam had to admit, they had potential. "But they are humans, right?"

"Yes, they'll only take humans into their ranks," the medic said with malice in his voice.

"They sound like stubborn fools," Adam said, getting a nod of agreement from Adrian. The rest of their time together was spent with a cold air of silence, Adam's mind began to wander as to where Blake might be, if she was here at all. If he found her, she would pay dearly for her traitorous actions against the White Fang.

The two of them heard gunshots and explosions from outside the tent. Adam followed Adrian outside to see what the source of the noise was. As Adam pulled the flaps of the tent to the side, he took in the sight of the battle currently taking place. Scores of men dressed in red and black body armor and masks were locked in battle against the troopers stationed at Camp Forlorn Hope.

Adrian called over five NCR troopers to escort him and Adam out of the camp. "We will be traveling to Camp Golf and tell them what's happening!" The troopers followed Adrian's lead as they exited northbound from the camp, however their retreat was cut short as more than a dozen Legionaries cut off their escape route.

"Prepare for you death, degenerates," the leader of the Legionaries said before firing at the troopers with his riot shotgun, downing three of them and gravely injuring the other two, leaving only Adrian and Adam in fighting condition.

"Here, take this," Adrian whispered as he handed Adam a serrated combat knife. Adam snatched the knife out of the ghoul medic's hand and readied himself for battle.

"So you two profligates wish to die with honor. Good. I thank you for donating your dog tags to my collection," The leader, a Decanus said with arrogance as he jumped down from the high ground with a curved gladius in hand. He swung for Adam, who parried the strike with his knife, following up a repulst, stabbing the legionary in the arm. The Decanus responded with a powerful uppercut to Adam's chin. He followed up with solid punch to the side of his face, knocking off his White Fang mask. Adam's emerald green eyes leered at the Decanus as he quickly recovered from Adam's attack.

Adam looked over to Adrian who was taking on two Legionaries, and if it kept up the way it did, He might not make it out alive. While Adam was fine with leaving a human to his doom, he still needed Adrian alive. However, Adam's plan fell flat as Adrian's head was lopped off by one of the legionaries, his decapitated head rolling over to Adam's feet. As he stared at the detached head in front of him, his foe, the Legion Decanus swung at Adam's head with a pipe, knocking him to the ground on his hands and knees.

"Profligate, prepare for death." The Decanus said as he held a gladius over Adam's neck.

"Wait," a calm voice ordered as the Legion Decanus halted his swing of the shishkabob that was aimed for Adam's neck. It was so close in fact, that he could feel heat emanating from the flame that was just inches from his neck.

Adam and Dead Sea turned to face the source of the voice to see a man wearing a fox's head over his.

"Vulpes?" Dead Sea asked, addressing the high ranking Frumentarii.

"Yes. I came to check on the raiding camp and discovered that you had decided to directly attack Camp Forlorn Hope. When I learned of this, I decided to have my men join in on the spoils of this raid and to truly strike fear into the hearts of these profligates" Vulpes said as he leaned down to take a look at Adam.

"He appears to have… horns? Interesting, it appears this man is some type of genetic mutation in which he has grown horns. Refrain from killing him, as he will make for a valuable asset in both ability and symbol. He, much like us, are of the Bull. Vulpes commented as Adam was given a strong kick to the head, knocking him out.

* * *

As the four of them are forced to survive the harsh environment, the Mojave and its inhabitants will change drastically as major players will rise and fall, and the four inhabitants of Remnant will be forced to endure the pain that is survival. They will encounter adversity, pain, and struggles. Will they remain the same was when they arrived, or will they be forever changed in who they are and what they believe? Only time will tell, but amongst all these questions, there is one absolute that remains clear; War, war never changes.

* * *

I hope you all liked it! Please drop a review if you are so inclined to do so and have a nice evening!


	2. A Courier, An Eyebot, and a Pyromancer

Cinder Fall

Cinder found herself in a pitch-black expanse. She began to walk in one direction, finding the same pitch-black expanse in all direction. Just as the Pyromancer thought all was lost, the area around her began to morph into a familiar set of colors that eventually formed into a scene of a mother and her daughter walking in an unknown landscape.

The first was of a young girl was walking with her mother to the Mistral market with her mother. The young girl had a warm, wide smile on her face as she followed her mother through the marketplace. The next image she saw was of beautiful women wearing beautiful dresses, vibrant reds clashed with dark blues, light greens blended with bright yellows. The second scene began to warp into the third, the desire to become as beautiful as the women previously mentioned, but with an even prettier dress than them. As the scenes began to transition, the next one moved in faster than the last. The fourth scene was of that same young girl in a bright red dress, prancing around in an open field with her parents watching with joy. Then the final act of this small and scarce play began to set in. The dress began to smell of blood as the bright red on the dress began to take on a darker done of the same color. The girl's parents were gone, and there she stood, The Queen of the Grimm, Salem. Cinder's blood went cold as she stood there, sending a paralyzing leer Cinder's way.

"Don't forget what you owe me, Cinder," Salem said with a solid frown on her face as she faced her subordinate.

Fear struck through her like a bolt of lightning. Her entire body of paralyzed with fear as adrenaline began to pump through her veins as she shot up from her seated position. She took note of her surroundings, realizing she was in no immediate danger. Cinder noticed was in a medical room of sorts. There were two people in the room and what looked like a floating metal eye that was floating near her.

"So you're up. That's good. Glad you ain't dead," a man said as Cinder faced him. He appeared to be a man whom had finished growing, his frame was more slim than muscular and was able to hold up his broad shoulders. Cinder decided to go with an amnesia cover story so that she wouldn't be suspected of any crimes she had committed in the past. "Where am I?" Cinder asked with a confused frown.

"You're in the Mojave, but more specifically in a building," the man said as he approached her with the metal orb following closely behind him. "I found you sitting by that campfire you managed to set up and decided to join you and share some food. However, as I got closer you began to exhibit signs of poisoning, so I picked you up and took you to the nearest Follower's outpost."

"Followers?" Cinder asked, fishing for more information.

"The Followers of the Apocalypse, a faction made up entirely of a bunch of doctors who help others with medical problems. They'll close a wound, fix you up if you're addicted, and if you've got enough caps, they'll even sell you medical supplies. But enough about them, my name's Courier Six," the Courier said as he extended his hand with neutral look on his face.

She shook it softly so that the Courier would think that she was but a feeble maiden, and not the combat-capable warrior that she was. She would keep this facade up until she could trust him.

"The name's Cinder Fall. If you would be so kind, would you answer some questions I have about this place, the Mojave?" Cinder asked with a confident smile on her face.

She saw the Courier smile before he gave her the answer she was looking for. "By all means, ask away. However, for every question you ask, I'll ask one for you. If I answer your question and you don't answer mine, then no more questions answered. Deal?"

"Deal," Cinder said easily. "So on to my first question; where exactly am I? What is this world called? What Continent am I on? What kingdom am I in?" Cinder asked with a calm face.

"You are on, in order of your questions, on the planet of Earth, the continent of North America, and in what was once called The United States of America," The Courier explained as if he had practiced that very statement.

"Now it's time for my question. Where did you get this?" Six asked as he held up Cinder's red dress which was neatly folded up and was being held within his arms.

"My dress? Well it was gifted to me a while ago, so I don't quite know origin. Why are you interested in it?" The Pyromancer asked.

Six chuckled before answering Cinder. "Well, the material that was used in it is quite soft, so I thought that I could make some modifications to a piece of apparel I have that might suit you."

"Is that so? Well I have no use for it since i've managed to get some armor, however i'm not going to part with it for free," Cinder said as Six nodded in agreement.

"It is a rare piece indeed, how about one hundred caps?" The Courier asked, holding out a leather pouch filled with bottle caps, shaking it so that Cinder could hear the clinking of metal.

Cinder's face turned to a disgruntled frown. "Caps? What use would I have for bottle caps?" Cinder asked, thinking she was being made a fool of.

The Courier was in a state of disbelief. How could she not know about the most widely used currency? This confirmed his suspicions that she wasn't from around here, but that begged more questions than it answered. "They're used as currency around here."

"Bottlecaps? As currency?" Cinder questioned in disbelief.

"Well first we used purified water, but carrying a hundred gallons of purified water can be quite encumbering, so the decision was made to move to something far lighter, bottle caps," The Courier explained as he took one of the caps out of the leather pouch, examining both sides of it, then placing it back into the same pouch. "So, one hundred caps for the dress?" Six pressed, hoping to get the deal.

"One hundred and fifty," Cinder pressed, aiming to get a better bargain.

"One hundred twenty-five, that's my final offer," Six said, crossing his arms with a grin on his face.

"Deal." Six handed Cinder the caps and he moved to another room with the dress under his arm. The Pyromancer looked at a few of the caps in the palm of her hand, examining each with the utmost care. Once she concluded her inspection of the caps she placed them in a small leather pouch lent to her by The Courier.

"Ms. Fall, there is something of the utmost urgency that I must talk to you about," The female doctor said with a serious look on her face as Cinder turned to face her. "Your left arm has begun to succumb to necrosis. The skin is dead, however the appendage appears to still be responsive to some basic stimuli we subjected it to. I'd advise that you keep an eye on it. Furthermore, you will have to leave within five hours. We've done all we can for you so you should join up with Courier Six. He has decent experience and skill in medical practices, so he might be able to come up with some type of treatment for your arm," The doctor said as she got up from her seat at the side of the bed.

"Do you have any recommendations for me in my last few hours here?" Cinder inquired.

"Get some sleep, I'll let the Courier know about the specifics of your arm, I'm sure he'd be willing to help." Cinder nodded, resting her head on the soft pillow and closed her eyes to get some rest. She was awoken by violent nudging of something cold and hard. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal a floating, spherical eye of sorts that had all types of antenna attached to it. It had a license plate on the lower section of the front plate that read out 'ED-E'.

"What are you?" Cinder asked in a groggy manor.

"My companion, he goes by the name ED-E," Six said as he walked over to the Pyromancer.

"Now ED-E, this young lady here is named Cinder Fall. She's going to be joining us on our little adventure, ok? I want you to behave, alright? We are gentlemen after all," Six said to his robotic pal. ED-E nodded happily as he circled around Cinder's head with joy.

Cinder rolled her eyes as she got out of bed. "Would either of you two happen to have anything I can fight with and some armor to go along with it? It wouldn't be very nice to die a few days after I leave this place."

"As a matter of fact I do," Six answered as he handed her a serrated combat knife and a small caliber pistol along with a sheath for the knife, a light brown holster for the pistol, and a bag filled with magazines for the pistol. Next he handed her some lightweight leather armor.

"So where do we go from here?" Cinder asked as she put on her leather armor.

"Repconn Headquarters. I heard rumors about a rare variant of a plasma rifle that's worth a lot of caps," The Courier explained.

"How powerful is a plasma rifle?" Cinder questioned as the Courier's eyebrows raised in response.

"While the projectile moves slower that your average bullet, it packs a powerful punch. However the ammunition it uses is rare at the very least, and it eats them up like candy," The Courier explained as he lead Cinder and ED-E out of the outpost.

Cinder chuckled with smirk. "Is there any other reason you would consider holding on to it?"

"Its value. Energy weapons are rare for the average wastelander, partly due to the brotherhood and Van Graffs putting up a stink, but that's besides the point. Due to the rarity of them they tend to be valuable, and I wouldn't mind the extra caps."

"A bit low on money?" Cinder quipped with a slight smirk written on her face.

"You could say that, but we should be fine for now. Let's head over to the Repconn Headquarters, it's about a day's journey and we are going to need to travel through the night," the Courier said as he scouted ahead with his binoculars. He spotted five figures on the horizon wearing some type of black armor and energy weapons.

Cinder walked up to him with a confident stride. "Have you found anything, or are you just taking in the view?" she inquired, her hand hovering over her pistol.

"Yes, and any dangers that come with it. They're five men ahead of us who are heavily armored," Six stated as he put down his binoculars.

"What are we going to do about them?" Cinder questioned her guide. "Are we going to have to fight them?"

"Not at the moment. I'd prefer we avoid any type of conflict with them for the time being."

"Is there a particular reason as to why you'd like to avoid them?" Cinder asked, trying to get a gauge of the Courier's character.

"Yes. The armor they wear, its armor that only the Van Graffs men wear. From the rumors I've heard about them, they attack anyone who isn't their own with impunity. Caravans, prospectors, travelers, it makes no difference to them. They also use plasma weaponry, which makes them an even bigger threat."

"I understand. So if we are not going to attack them, then how are we going to get to those HQ? Do you intend to simply wait until they leave?" Cinder questioned.

"No. We are going to follow them at a distance until they move out of our path," Six explained as he unslung a large rifle of sorts from his back. "However, should we be drawn into battle, be prepared to fight."

Cinder pulled her pistol from its holster and loaded a magazine. "Would you mind telling me what type of firearm that is that you're wielding?"

"It's a grenade rifle, a special variant that I've used for quite a while now," the Courier said as he loaded a grenade into the weapon's barrel. "Let's move." The three of them followed the Van Graff troops for hours, making sure to keep their distance from the men. As the sun began to set, the five men moved in an opposite direction to Six's and Cinder's goal.

"Good, we've managed to avoid a fight, now let's go get that weapon. We'll go from floor to floor. We'll sweep through each level, checking to make sure the floor is clear of hostiles."

"I understand. Do you know what types of enemies we will be fighting against?"

"From the research I've done on the topic, Repconn used robots for security. So it would be safe to assume there will be plenty of them patrolling inside the building. It would also be safe to assume that the higher up we go, the heavier the security will be. I'd advise you to use these if it comes down to it," Six said as he handed Cinder some odd looking grenades.

"What use will these be against robotic opponents?"

"They're pulse grenades. They were made exclusively to deal with robots. You do know how to use a grenade, right?" Cinder nodded as she pocketed the items. "Good, now let's head over to the building," Six said as he pulled his protonic inversal axe from his back, holding it in his left hand while he held the grenade rifle in the right.

The three of them moved closer to the building, using the cloak of darkness to remain hidden from the exterior patrols. Cinder watched as Six aimed his grenade rifle at the robots patrolling the outside. The design was similar to that of a seer grimm. They had a metal orb for an abdomen and metal arms reaching down from the abdomen, each holding a different weapon. The robot's thruster was placed directly under the metallic orb that held three extruding eyes. It was a fascinating design. Then, as if to break her out of the trance, its body was engulfed in a green explosion, obliterating it within a single blast.

"Get your head out of the clouds, Cinder. We're attacking," Six commanded as ED-E opened fire on the remaining guards. The Pyromancer took aim with her pistol and sent a hailstorm of bullets into the remaining guards, each of their metal corpses falling to the ground. Two larger and more bulkier robots moving on three legs with two mini guns attached to its arms approached the three of them. The sound of the chambers starting to spin began to fill the air as they revved up and began sending a volley of bullets towards them.

"Get to cover!" Six commanded as the bullets began to spray like a powerful maelstrom of lead. The three of them slid behind a large outcrop of rock.

"What now? It seems we've been pinned," Cinder said as she loaded another magazine.

"I have an idea. You and ED-E keep taking shots at it from here and I'll flank it."

"And how do you intend to kill it? That one seems to have thicker armor than the patrolling robots."

"Indeed it does. However I have my protonic inversal axe which is far more effective against robots and power armor. All I need is to get a few swings in and that should down the metal beast," Six said as he slung his grenade rifle onto his back, taking the weapon into both of his hands.

"On my mark… 3," Six started.

"2," Cinder took aim from behind the rocks.

"1," ED-E readied himself.

"MARK!" Six shouted as the air was filled with lead and laser. Every second felt like an hour, the world moved at an incredibly slow pace as the Courier got closer and closer to the sentry bots. The machine of war turned to Six, slamming into his side with one of its metal arms, the Courier's body slammed down onto the concrete foundation. Then the sentry bot was covered in arcs of electricity that danced across the robot's metal plates as its circuits were getting slowly fried. The Courier took another swing, another wave electricity coursing through its circuits. Six put all of his remaining energy into the third and final swing, knocking the metal guardian on its back as it ceased movement. Six rushed the second sentry bot, firing multiple pulse grenades as he made a final swing with his proton axe. He collapsed from exhaustion as Cinder holstered her pistol and approached him with a steady pace.

Once she reached him as he lay on the concrete floor, Cinder bent her head over the Courier. Her head blocking the rising rays of the sun.

"Are you all tuckered out? I thought we were going to storm this little building, was I mistaken?" She asked mockingly as the Courier gave a heavy chuckle.

"You were not," Six said as he rose from his position and looked up at Cinder. His caramel eyes analyzing her body, as if he was checking her for any type of injuries.

"Enjoying the view?" Cinder asked with a slight frown on her face.

"Kinda…" Six shot back with a smirk on his face.

Cinder put her hands on her waist as she turned her back on him. "Well you can enjoy my presence once we're done with this little mission, understand?" She asked as she looked over her shoulder at the Courier and ED-E who were laughing with each other.

"Of course I do. I am the one who decided on this, aren't I? Now let's get a move on." Six led Cinder and ED-E towards the front doors of the building. He injected a stimpack into his abdomen as he felt his body recovering. Both him and Cinder slowly opened one of the double doors to reveal many more robots that resembled the seer grimm patrolling the first floor. They totalled five, at least those that the young Pyromancer could see. One of them approached her and the Courier, greeting the two of them in a cheerful tone.

"Good morning and welcome to Repconn Headquarters! Are the two of you interested in taking the tour?" It asked.

"I think we'll pass, but thank you for asking," Six said with a warm smile. Cinder looked at him with confusion. He had no reason to be so polite with this robot. It was merely a greeter, and yet the Courier still showed respect to it.

"Of course. Have a enjoyable visit!" The robot said as it moved back to its idle place.

She leaned in to Six and said, "How have these robots not recognized us as a threat yet?" She watched the man rub his chin in thought until coming to a conclusion.

"The external patrolling units might be on a different frequency than the internal ones. It's just a guess. They could just be waiting for us to take the first strike," Six reasoned.

"Yes, but if they know that we are a threat, then why lose the advantage of striking first?" Cinder questioned.

Six frowned as he crossed his arms. "Again, it's just a guess."

"So shall we take the advantage?" Cinder asked as her hand hovered over her holster.

"Yes, but first we're going to see what we're up against. ED-E, go with Cinder through that corridor, I'll go through the other one." ED-E nodded as he followed Cinder through the corridor. She slowly advanced through the building, taking note of everything from the number of patrolling robots and their patrol routes, to the laser turret sentries and where they were placed. As she took a second look around, Cinder found some cubicles and investigated each one with the utmost care. 'Nothing but family photos and workplace supplies,' she thought as she paced from cubicle to cubicle. A glowing green light could be seen from the end of the long hallway of cubicles.

ED-E nudged her forward out of curiosity. When she arrived at the source of the light, she realized that it was a computer of some sorts. It was far less advanced than Atlas tech, but funcional all the same. She took a seat in the chair and scrolled through the emails, none of them catching her eye, except for one.

"What's this?" Cinder asked herself with a grin on her face. "We've received a special shipment of the new prototype. The boys will be putting it on the third floor in the safe in the storage room," Cinder read aloud. She looked through the drawers to see if there was anything else of note. As she opened the final drawer, she saw a red plastic card. She picked it up and pocketed it.

"ED-E, I think we found what we were looking for." Cinder shot up from the chair and dashed to the front of the building where Six was waiting. She stopped a few feet in front of him to catch her breath.

"Everything alright?" Six asked as he cocked his head to the side.

"Better. I found out where they're keeping the Q-35 Matter Modulator. Third floor, in a safe in the storage room."

"Good job," Six said as he rustled her hair.

"I'm not a child, don't do that to me," Cinder said as she removed Six's hand form her head. "Anything else you need to tell me before we go to the next floor?"

"Yes, we have a problem. The only way to the staircase is blocked by a guard. If it comes down to it, we can force our way through. There is most likely a key card that would let us pass."

"I think I may have what you're looking for," Cinder stated as she took out the red plastic card and handed it to Six.

"Good job, now let's head up to the next level." The Courier and the Pyromancer moved to the staircase where the guard was stationed.

"Present your employee badge to move on to the second level," the guarding Mr. Handy commanded.

Six showed the badge to the Mr. Handy, who stepped aside, letting Six, Cinder, and ED-E ascend to the next level. They took note of the increased number of security drones that patrolled the second level.

"If this pattern continues, the third floor will be nothing but patrol bots," Cinder stated with amused sarcasm.

"Hopefully not, but let's keep on moving," Six said, brandishing his Protonic Inversal Axe with a confident grin. Six led his two followers through the second level. "Shit," the Courier said as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What is it?"

"A Brotherhood of Steel patrol. All of them are dead…" Six said. Cinder looked up to his face to see his deeply distraught features.

"Are these Brotherhood of Steel personnel more skilled than the average man in this area?"

"Yea… They usually receive a few years of training before they're sent into the field, and to see three of them dead is just… unbelievable. Be alert. Whatever killed them could be very dangerous," Six said as he picked up a holotape from one of the dead men.

"What's that?"

"A holotape, think of it as the most convenient way to store information, text, audio, and codes."

"Seems quite convenient," Cinder said, thinking of the type of things she could use such type of technology for. Although it was no scroll, it was something.

"They are. Before we move on I'm going to pick up their weapons so that we can sell them later." Cinder watched as he de-materialized the weapons. She made a mental note to ask him about the large wrist-watch like contraption on his wrist.

"What do you think killed those men?" Cinder asked as she drew her pistol and loaded some hollow-point rounds.

"I can only speculate, but I doubt that someone released some cazadores or deathclaws into this building. So that leaves only two possibilities; they were killed by humans, or by the security bots. When we were scanning the first floor, I found no recent evidence of involvement by humans. I think there may be more than just one prototype weapon in this building."

Cinder followed Six as he and ED-E slowly scanned each room of the second floor. As they did so, ED-E began to get more and more afraid. "ED-E, are you alright?" ED-E shivered before giving the Courier a nod.

"What is ED-E?" Cinder asked as she covered the door.

"He's an ex-Enclave eyebot."

"Enclave?"

"I'll explain everything once we're out of here," Six said, keeping his focus on the task at hand. He peeked around the corner, scanning for any hostile robots. "Clear." Cinder heard the signal and moved up to the next layer of cover.

"Any sign of the second weapon?" Cinder asked, receiving a shake of the head from Six. She scanned the area ahead and found no threats. "Clear, move up," Cinder said as the Courier moved up to Cinder's position.

"I got you covered," Six stated as he aimed his grenade rifle ahead. He kept his eyes trained on the background in front of Cinder. Suddenly his focus snapped to her feet. "Laser tripwire! Watch out!" Six shouted as he dashed out of cover and tackling Cinder from the side, shielding her from the blast of the C-4 that was planted just inches away.

"Fuck, that hurt," Six said as he got up and injected a stimpack into his back. A blaring siren sounded as one of the walls began to slowly rise as a large, black sentry bot emerged from its containment area. It differed from the one outside in that it had shoulder-mounted rocket pods, and instead of miniguns there were gatling lasers. "Get to cover, NOW!" the Courier ordered as Cinder ran to the nearest piece of cover. "ED-E, get ready for combat!" he shouted as ED-E's combat music started up.

Six loaded up a pulse grenade into his grenade rifle and fired, the round having no effect on the black sentry bot. "Hostile detected. Engaging," The black sentry bot said in its electronic tone as it began to charge up its gatling lasers. The Courier scurried to Cinder, loading a plasma grenade.

"Looks like your normal strategy won't work on this one," Cinder said with sneer.

"No shit. It must have some sort of insulated plating. We are going to have to kill this thing if we want to escape with our lives," Six said as he fired from behind cover and reloaded.

"How are we going to play this?" Cinder asked as ED-E fired at the sentry bot.

"The rocket pods. If I can hit them with a grenade, then it should cause a chain reaction, destroying its weapon systems."

"Yes, but you won't get that chance from blind-firing," Cinder pointed out as ED-E shivered in fear.

"ED-E? What is it?" Six asked as concern started to seep into his mind. "The patrols…"

"Well that changes things," Cinder said, grabbing a pulse grenade from her belt as the sound of Mr. Handys swarming her and the Courier. All at once, fifteen Mr. Handys turned the corner and trained their plasma weapons on Cinder. She pulled the pin and threw it, a wave of electricity downed five of them.

"Keep that up! I'll deal with the sentry bot, just keep those things off of me!" Six commanded as he jumped out of cover and took aim at the right rocket pod. As he kept the sentry bot occupied by running circles around it, he started checking VATS. 'Damn, not a good enough chance, I need to get closer,' the Courier thought as he fired a grenade at its side.

Six pulled out his inversal axe, taking a swing at the back of the sentry bot, having no effect. He jumped on top of the robot, pulled out a roll of duct tape and a frag grenade, placed the grenade in between the head of the sentry bot and the rocket pod. Then he began to quickly tape the grenade to the pod, pulled the pin, and jumped off of robot. He took cover behind a broken wall as he heard the explosion, a wave of heat from it.

"Is it dead!?" Six shouted over the sound of pulse grenades detonating in the background.

"No! It's still moving!" Cinder responded. "The head, right, and left rocket pods are gone, but its hand weapons are still on!" she elaborated.

"Shit," Six cursed under his breath. "Do you have any of those pulse grenades left?" Six asked from behind cover.

"Yea, but just one, you think it will work this time!?" Cinder asked back.

"When I give you the signal, throw it." He took aim at the back of the sentry bot with his grenade rifle. His finger lightly touched the trigger as he readied to signal Cinder. "Now!" Six shouted as he heard Cinder pull the pin and throw it. The second he saw the grenade he fired, the resulting explosion preemptively detonating the pulse grenade as electricity and plasma tore the sentry bot appart.

"Well that could have gone smoother, but at least we're not dead," Six said with a half-hearted chuckle as he walked up to Cinder. "You made short work of those Mr. Handys," Six said as he looked over her shoulder at the pile of destroyed robots behind the fall maiden. "Now let's go get that weapon!" the Courier explained with excitement as ED-E happily swooned around the two of them.

The three of them advanced to the third and final floor in search of the Q-35 Matter Modulator. As they climbed the final staircase, Six could hear faint noises from the first floor. He put it in the back of his mind as they reached the third floor. Oddly enough, there were no robots. Everything was still, as if time stood still. This sent a shiver down Cinder's spine. It was ominous, the way that everything was silent, no sign of life, artificial or natural.

"Six," Cinder said sternly, doing her best to hide her fear. "Are all buildings here like this? So cold and-" Cinder said before being cut off by the Courier.

He wore a serious and stern look on his face as his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth turned to a frown, his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to focus on something in the distance. "Dead? Only the abandoned ones. But that doesn't make them any less dangerous. For all we know, there still could be traps lying in wait to be triggered, a parting gift from the long since deceased," Six said as his facial features relaxed to their previous state. "Its best not to dwell on the long gone past, you need to focus on the now if you want to survive." Six led Cinder and ED-E around the third floor in search of the special weapon. As they scoured the floor, the noises got louder, human voices shouting in anger.

"We have some visitors," Six said as he inspected some desk drawers, picking out some caps and putting them in his pouch. "If it comes down to it, we leave without the weapon, ok?" Six asked as he turned to Cinder.

"I understand, we should hurry it up if we want to get a payday," Cinder said as she moved from that room to another.

"Yea. Do you know where the Q-35 Matter Modulator is held?"

"The message said it was held in a safe in a storage room."

Six rubbed his chin in quizzical thought. "Let's check the CEO's room, maybe we can find a clue as to where this storage room is." Cinder nodded in agreement as they searched for the aforementioned room. Six and Cinder found the room, a large portrait of the CEO hung behind the desk. On the desk sat a terminal that was on, its green glow shining upon the desk.

"I'll check the desk and you check the other things in the room," Six ordered.

Cinder nodded as she began to scan the bookshelves for anything useful. She ran her finger through the spines of the books until she found a folded slip of paper stuck between two of the books. She pulled it out and unfolded it. The piece of paper was a basic floor plan of the building, showing each of the three floors and what was supposed to be on them. She read through it and discovered that the storage room was back on the first floor.

"Six, we're on the wrong floor, it looks like we passed over the storage room as we were sweeping through the ground floor."

"Understood, I'm going to finish going through this terminal. I managed to find this key in one of the drawers. It must be for the storage room," the Courier said, holding up a key so that Cinder could see it. She waited for him to finish as she memorized the floor plans.

"Done, now let's go." Six led Cinder and ED-E down to the staircase, the noises of human voices reached his ears. With each step their voices got louder and louder. At this point he could make out what they were saying.

"Find the fucks who got in this building and kill them!" One man shouted as the sound on boots and heavy armor got closer to them.

"Shit, get ready to fight," Six warned as he pulled out his grenade rifle and loaded a plasma canister.

"I think I heard something around the corner, take point," one man said as another moved up to cover the first.

Cinder loaded a magazine of armor piercing rounds into her pistol, aiming at the edge of the corner. "Once they round the corner, i'm going to fire the grenade. After that I'm going to switch to my inversal axe," Six whispered as he got closer to the edge, sticking to the wall with his grenade rifle aimed forwards.

Then the two men charged out from the other side of the wall. Six fired, an explosion of plasma engulfing the first one completely, while only grazing the second one.

"Keep me covered!" he shouted as he took out his inversal axe, charging at the second man. Six took a wide swing at the soldier, who ducked and slammed the butt of the plasma rifle he was holding into Six's face. The Courier staggered back to recover from the blow. Cinder aimed down the iron sights of the pistol and fired three shots at the enemy's torso. The soldier hit the floor as three trails of blood trickled out of the man's body. He pulled out a plasma pistol and aimed it at Cinder's head with a grimace on his face.

"You'll fucking pay for this! The Van Graffs will never forget your transgressions," the man said as he pulled the trigger. Cinder took to cover, but her grimm-arm was hit as a surge pain through the arm as she shrieked from the burning cluster of plasma as it burned right through the flesh of it.

"You son of a bitch!" Six shouted as he unsheathed Chance's knife and slit the man's throat with blinding speed. Then he rushed over to Cinder, examining her wound.

He lightly held the arm with one hand as he applied a stimpack with the other. "Looks like its working, but at a slower rate. I want you to stay behind with ED-E for protection until the Van Graffs are dealt with. ED-E, protect Cinder," the Courier commanded.

"Six, once we're out of here, I need to tell you something," Cinder said as a stern look was painted on her face. The Courier gave a nod of affirmation, and moved down the flight of stairs. He took out a frag grenade and began to cook it, waiting for the right moment to throw the grenade. Then, as he found his mark, he lobbed the grenade towards a group of five soldiers. It exploded at their feet, ripping their feet and legs from their bodies. They all began to bleed out as the Courier passed over their soon-to-be corpses, moving towards the leader of the contingent.

He was nothing of note, he wore the same armor as his subordinates, even the same weapon. The only reason Six could deduce that he was leader was because he was wearing a jet-black cowboy hat and a pair of aviators.

He was being guarded by two men, one holding a gatling laser and the other holding a plasma caster. Six aimed at the head of the leader with his grenade rifle and fired. The resulting explosion mangled the two heavy weapons to the point of disrepair. The two guards pulled out plasma pistols and began to send a wave of plasma projectiles at the Courier. Six felt as plasma burned through his thighs as he injected a stimpack into his injuries, staying behind cover so that they could fully heal.

"Get out here you bastard!" one of the guards shouted as Six pulled out some dynomite and lit the wick throwing it around the corner. Six readied another stick, lighting the wick and waiting for the explosion of the first one. As the booming sound filled the first floor, he threw the next stick and used the smoke created from the explosion to fire a plasma grenade into the group. The sound of pained screams echoed in his ears. He assumed that all three of them were dead or dying, but he was sorely mistaken. As he calmly walked through the smoke of the second explosion distorting his vision, the leader rushed the Courier, using his immense muscle mass and power to pin him to the wall, choking him with the plasma rifle.

"You're gonna fucking pay for everything you've done! I'm going to gut you like a fucking fish!" the leader threatened as he unsheathed a combat knife, holding it up to the Courier's neck. "Any last words?" He asked with a dark cackle.

"I have a few," Cinder said as she walked down the stairwell with ED-E in tow. She formed a flame in the palm of her fully human hand and shot it at the leader, lighting him on fire. Next, she materialized her bow, notched an arrow, and fired without warning. Six watched as the glass arrow pierced the leader's head through the forehead.

Cinder slowly walked over to Six, helping him up from his tired state. "What was that? The fireball, the bow, how?" Six asked in disbelief.

"I'll explain that later, right now let's find that weapon," Cinder said in an unusually calm voice as she walked up to the leader and took off the hat and aviators from his face and put them on herself. She adjusted the hat until it comfortably sat on her head. Then she placed the aviators on her face.

After she was finished, Cinder led the Courier and ED-E into the storage room where the Q-35 Matter Modulator was kept. Six picked it up and dusted it off, examined it and stored it into his pip-boy. "Got it, now let's get going. I'm looking forwards to what you're going to tell me," Six said with a smile on his face.

They walked out of the building as the sun blared in their faces, the heat from the very same sun beating down on them. Six pulled out two bottles of Sunset Sarsaparilla, offering one to Cinder. "You wanna to beat the heat?"

"I'd be delighted," Cinder said as she took the bottle and downed it in a few swigs. "Where to next?"

The Courier chuckled and looked down at his pip-boy, then back up at Cinder and said "Northward. We should be able to reach Freeside in a day or two. Once we arrive, we can get some better weapons and get some extra caps," Six explained as he started to lead the pyromancer towards the north.

As they exchanged small talk to pass the time, a question popped into Cinder's mind. "Courier, why do you only use explosives and melee weapons?"

"It's simple, I ain't that good when it comes to aiming, so something with an area of effect helps me to get by. As for the melee weapons, ever since I can remember I was always swinging something, be it a wooden stick or claw hammer. Now for something I've been meaning to ask you. How did you do that back in the building with the fire and the bow?"

"I had a feeling you wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth," Cinder said with a smirk of confidence on her face.

"Try me."

"How about I tell you tonight?"

"Alright," Six said as the sun began to set over one of the man sand dunes of the Mojave. The two of them walked for another twenty minutes until they found an abandoned campsite. As they took a seat, each of them taking an unoccupied seat one sitting on the other side of the fire pit. "How about you show me that flame again and light this fire?"

Cinder rolled her eyes and shot a small fireball at the pit, lighting it as the flame grew to moderate size, the visage of the Courier's face lit by the fire in front of it. ED-E floated beside the Courier with a jovial sway. The positioning of his head gave the appearance as if his head was set on top of the fire.

"So, shall we begin?"

"I'm ready when you are."

"To start, I'm not from this world." Six raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "And in the world I am from, there is a big importance on the soul. Many of the abilities I have are tied in one way or another, to the soul."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, the ability to form fire is connected to my soul, as is my aura and semblance."

"Aura? Semblance?"

"Aura is the physical manifestation of one's soul. Aura can be used in a multitude of ways in combat. It has offensive, defensive, and restoration applications. Think of aura as a personal shield from harm, however you must be aware of the threat for your aura to take effect and it isn't bottomless. Once you run out aura, any damage you sustain cannot be blocked. As for semblances, they are a unique ability granted to someone who has unlocked his or her aura. No semblance is alike, for example, mine is the manipulation of glass," Cinder explained as she held out her hand and formed a small dagger made entirely of glass.

"Ok, you mentioned that people in your world have to unlock their aura, so theoretically people in this world could also have this aura and semblance?"

"Theoretically, yes. However, it takes intense training to unlock and that's just for the aura."

"How would someone go about unlocking their semblance?"

"Generally someone has to go through an extremely stressful event, emotionally or physically."

"Well if that's the case, it looks like I won't be getting that any time soon," Six said with a lighthearted chuckle.

"So let me get this straight; you have some special abilities that are tied to your soul, your aura and semblance, which can be used for combat?"

"Precisely. Any other questions?" Cinder asked as she poked the fire a wooden stick before throwing it into the fire.

"Just one, if you're not from this world, how did you get here?"

"I… don't know," Cinder said with hesitation.

Six rubbed his chin as he nodded his head. "Interesting… well there's no use worrying about it now. You should get some rest, ED-E and I will stand guard," Six said as he walked up to her and handed her a thick blanket. She went to bed, using the blanket as a sheet and rolling herself up in it. As she looked up to the night sky, Cinder saw a plethora of stars in the night sky and once again, she saw the moon. As her head tilted to the side, she saw the Courier looking up into the night sky as he said to ED-E "It so beautiful and peaceful tonight, to bad it won't always be like this." A song she had never heard before started to emanate from the Courier's pip-boy.

Cinder's eyes fluttered a few times before they finally closed in exhaustion, as the song played through the night, serenading her as her mind faltered into a slumber.

" _Blue moon._

 _You saw me standing alone._

 _Without a dream in my heart,_

 _Without a love of my own_."

As the song continued, she could have sworn she heard the Courier singing along, but it could have just been her mind playing tricks on her or the cold Mojave wind.

 **End**

Author's Note

Hey guys and gals! I'm working on finishing and editing the third and fourth chapter of this fic and I intend to post the third in a few days.


	3. Welcome to Jacobstown

Blake Belladonna and Ilia Amitola

"Just up here, Dearies!" Black and Ilia were helping Lily towards Jacobstown. As they rounded the trail, the sight of a wall of tree trunks began to reveal itself. It only took them seven minutes to reach the front of the gates.

Blake had a worried look on her face as something in the same shape and stature but its skin was that of a light green. It also had a weird type of helmet on top of its head and it carried a generic rifle.

"Lily! Thank goodness you're alright, I was afraid you wouldn't return," The large, green man said with relieved look on his face. "Did you two help her?"

"Yes. We saw some humans harassing her and we scared them off," Ilia said with pride as a wide, warm smile on her face.

"Thank you. It can be hard being a super mutant and nightkin enclave fending for ourselves. Would you two be so kind as to help her over to Doctor Henry? I can't leave my post, I am the sheriff after all!" The large, green man said with a chuckle.

Blake nodded, looking the green man in his eyes. "What's your name?"

"Marcus, and yours?"

"Blake Belladonna."

"Ilia Amitola. So where is this doctor?"

"He lives and works in that lodge over there, just be careful not to look the nightkin in the eyes, they're real touchy about being stared at," Marcus advised with a wave goodbye.

Ilia looked over her shoulder to tell Marcus something. "I know what that feels like…" Ilia said with a sad tone in a voice as she helped Lily to the lodge.

They entered the lodge, a crowd of nightkin as they were called, crowded around them. "What did you do to Lily?!" one shouted in anger. "Go back from where you came human!" Another sneered.

"That's enough! These two girls helped me in my time of need, so stop shouting at them," Lily commanded, a more stern and authoritative tone overtaking her, as the crowd of nightkin began to whisper among themselves and eventually dispersed. "Would you dearies help me to the doctor?" Lily asked with her grandmotherly tone returning.

Blake gave a smile. "Of course." The three of them walked into a room that was filled with medical tools and utensils sprawled across tables a computer and an operating table. There were two humans in the room. One appeared as if she had her skin scorched off and it never fully healed, and the other was just a tan old man. Both of them wore a doctor's coat with a stethoscope around their necks.

"Doctor Henry?" Blake asked as the old man approached her.

"Yes young lady? What do you require?" Henry asked with a welcoming smile on his face.

"Lily's hurt, can you help her? She broke her leg," Blake asked with worry.

Doctor Henry nodded to himself as he led Lily over to the operating table as he began to treat her wounded knee.

Ilia tried not to stare at the burnt human. Although the sight was unsettling, she couldn't help but be intrigued. "What are you staring at?" The burnt woman asked with a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry it's just I've never seen someone like you," Ilia said with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head with another nervous laugh.

"You've never seen a ghoul before?" the lady asked with more surprise in voice than anger.

"No, what is a ghoul?" Ilia asked.

"A ghoul, is a human who experienced an extreme amount of radiation which flayed their skin off."

"Did it… hurt?" Ilia questioned, trying not to something insensitive.

The ghoul began to form a look of irritation on her face. "Of course it did! It was life a wave of fire consuming my body!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to anger you." Ilia said as she backed off.

"No, you're fine, its just a touchy subject," She said, rubbing what remained of her brow.

"There, all done," Doctor Henry said as he finished wrapping up Lily's injury.

"Doctor, why do you stay here?" Blake asked as Doctor Henry looked up at her.

"Because I feel like I owe the super mutants and nightkin something."

Blake was confused, what would this man owe to these people? "Ok dearies, lets go over to the house so you two can get cleaned up for supper!" Lily said in a jovial tone as she led the two fanus girls to her house.

"Are you sure it's ok for us to stay with you?" Blake asked, a bit worried about the other nightkin that inhabited the town.

"Oh it's fine! I'll just tell Marcus that you two will be staying here and everything should be alright!" Lily said as she walked out of the lodge with an incredible amount of energy. The three of them walked towards the super mutant sheriff as the sun began to set behind them.

"Marcus, dear! I'd like to inform you of two guests that will be staying at my home until further notice."

"I'd assume the two guests are following behind you?" Marcus asked with an amused smirk on his face.

Lily nodded and scratched her head. "Yes they are. I need to ask something of you, Marcus."

"What is it?"

"I don't have enough beds for my guests, and I don't want my dear granddaughters to go sleeping near those meanie nightkin in the lodge. Would you be kind enough to let one of them sleep in your house?" Lily asked sweetly as Marcus sighed.

"Sure, which one of you want's to bunk with me?" Marcus inquired.

"I'll sleep in your house, Blake can stay with Lily," Ilia said as Marcus nodded in agreement.

"So it's decided. We should get some sleep, there's a lot to be done tomorrow," Marcus said as he led Ilia to his house.

"Like what?" Ilia asked as Marcus held the door open for her.

He closed the door behind him as he entered the house. "Well for starters, there's the problem of the cazadors attacking our bighorners, and then there's the nightstalkers. Doctor Henry should be able to give you and your friend more details."

"Marcus, can I ask you a question?" Ilia asked as she iddly twiddled her thumbs with nervousness.

"Sure, what is it?"

Ilia looked up at Marcus. "Why aren't there many humans here? I mean, besides the doctor and his ghoul assistant, it's just super mutants and nightkin."

"Well, normal humans aren't too fond of things they don't understand, and we are one of those things. But humans aren't the only reason there's only one human; The nightkin are very hostile to humans, as you probably guessed when you went into the lodge."

The answers she received did not surprise her when it came to the human's blame, but what did the nightkin have to do with all of this? "Why are they like that?" she asked, only to receive a heavy sigh from Marcus.

"Have you ever heard of The Master?" Marcus asked as he took a seat in a chair.

"No, who is he?"

"I would call the master an it. It was the creator of both super mutants and nightkin. It's important for you know that we were humans too."

Ilia was shocked. How could a normal human become what sat before her? What kind of horrific secrets did this world hold? "How did you become… this?"

"Vats of F.E.V. Its short for the forced evolutionary virus," Marcus said as Ilia inturupted him, a bit concerned for what it was called.

"Forced?"

"Yes. From what things i've been able to gather from old world, it was meant to be used on soldiers in case the enemy used some type of biological or chemical weapon against the country. Unfortunately, it wasn't perfect, and the few who it worked well on still decreased their amount of brain activity."

"And the nightkin?" Ilia questioned.

"In the beginning, they were far smarter than the average super mutant, however continuous stealth boy use caused them to develop paranoia, become more aggressive, and in the worst case they develop schizophrenia. Lily is one of those who've developed schizophrenia."

"Is that why she treated Blake and I like her grandchildren?" Ilia asked as she took some food from the refrigerator from the kitchen.

"That's half the reason. You see, her actual grandchildren were killed by raiders before she was turned into a nightkin. The constant stealth boy usage caused her to regress in a way back to thinking her grandchildren are alive. The other nightkin see her as the mother figure of Jacobstown, a shimmering light in the sea of darkness that is everyday life here. That, and I think they're a bit afraid of her," Marcus said with an amused chuckle.

"So that's why they backed off…" Ilia murmured.

Marcus picked up on what she was saying. "Did the nightkin confront you at the lodge?" he asked with concern.

"Yea, but Lily made them back off. Marcus, why do they fear her?"

"She may act like a sweet old lady, but if you attack her bighorners or cause trouble with her, you'll sorely regret it. When a human traveler came into town one day and started threatening us, she politely asked him to stop. He didn't. She asked again, this time with a stricter tone, and again he did not let up. After a third attempt, she took out a bumper sword she had and cut off his arms. The problem was, that man was an NCR soldier, and even though he got what he deserved, the NCR was now aware of us."

"The NCR? Who are they?" Ilia asked,

Marcus shook his head with a worried look on his face before addressing her. "The only thing you have to know about them, is that they would very much like our little town up here in the mountains to just disappear, possibly through direct intervention."

"So that's why humans don't come here…"

Marcus gave a solemn nod. "Yes. Now that I've told you a bit about this place, could you tell me a bit about where you're from?"

Ilia gave a small smile as she began to recall memories of her time in Atlas. "I lived in a really cold place. I had a loving family with me being the only child. My parents worked day in and day out so that I could attend one of the best schools in my town. But there was one condition, my parents told me to never reveal myself as a fanus," Ilia explained as a look of confusion grew on Marcus' face.

"What's a fanus?" He asked as he scratched his head.

"A humanoid nearly identical to that of a human but with a single physical animal feature, like a pair of wings, a set of horns, or sharp claws."

"But you don't appear to have any animal-like features, how are you a fanus?" Marcus asked. Then, Ilia began to change her skin from its natural brown into a light blue. "So you're a chameleon fanus?"

Ilia nodded as she changed back and yawned. "Is your friend a fanus too?"

"Yea, a cat fanus."

"So back to where you're from, why would you have to hide what you are?" Marcus asked as he led her to the living room where they would continue the conversation.

"The humans who lived where I did not have the kindest disposition towards fanus, as they used us for slave labor for dangerous work. We had to fight a war just to get some rights. Even when we won, we were given a raw deal. They gave us an island that was three fourths desert!" Ilia shouted in anger, her tone starting to raise as she continued to tell Marcus about the history of the fanus.

"An organization was formed called the White Fang. At first they did peaceful protests, but that wasn't enough to give us equal rights, so they started to get violent, and that's when we started to get results," Ilia said with a wide, confident smirk on her face. That feeling, however, was short-lived as the smirk turned into a solemn frown.

"Then, my parents were killed while working in the mine. An explosion. There were no remains. I remember going to my dorm and reading the local newspaper. It was as if it happened yesterday, I can remember the head line perfectly: Dust explosion in Schnee mine, ten injured, five killed. After reading the headline on the front page I immediately flipped to the obituaries only for my wildest fears to come true. There they were, my own two parents, dead," Ilia said on the verge of tears. Marcus got up from his seat in the chair and took a seat to the side of the teary-eyed fanus, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"The next thing I hear are my roomates coming in. They hated fanus with a passion, and the second they saw the headline, they just laugh and prodded at the workers. They called them all sorts of names, disgusting animals, degenerate creatures, but the worst was, wastes of life. It was only then that I let my emotions get the better of me as my skin turned light blue in sadness. The three of them continued calling the fanus names, but when my skin changed they started calling me those things. Then my vision started to blur as my skin changed again, this time to a sharp red. I remember hearing them scream as I bludgeoned them, knocking their teeth out and giving them a few black eyes. After that I was expelled from the academy. As I walked home that day, a member of the White Fang contacted me, asking if I wanted to join them."

"Did you?" Marcus asked as Ilia's crying turned into sniffles.

"Yes, that's where I met Blake. Then, a few years after teaming up with a man five years older than her by the name of Adam Taurus, she left the White Fang and attended a huntress academy Then we were just sort of teleported here."

"Interesting, so you have no clue as to how you got here?"

Ilia nodded. "Yea it was just like a bright flash and then we were here."

"Well, we should get some rest," Marcus said as he led Ilia to where she would be sleeping. It was a small, plain bed with white sheets and a wooden frame. There were a few pillows neatly placed at the head of the bed. There was also a night stand placed next to it with lamp placed on it. "If you need anything, feel free to wake me. I'll be sleeping on the couch in the living room," Marcus informed Ilia as he walked out the door.

As she drifted off to sleep, emotions of anger began to emerge. 'Blake, how could you leave the White Fang?' Ilia thought.

"Are you alright, Ilia? You were starting to sweat heavily and I got worried," Marcus explained as he helped Ilia out of bed.

Blake had a worried look on her face as she led Ilia to the kitchen where a plate of food was waiting for her. She took seat down with her friend and began to eat. "Were you having a nightmare?" Blake asked with that same worried look on her face.

Ilia shook her head as she took a bite of her breakfast. Once she finished chewing and swallowing she gave a more detailed answer. "I was just reliving an old memory, that's it."

"Which memory?" Blake inquired as she leaned in from across the table.

"How I joined the White Fang," Ilia answered as she took her plate to the sink. "How did you sleep?"

Blake sighed as she leaned back into her seat. "I had a dream…" Ilia looked over her shoulder at Blake with an eyebrow raised.

"And?"

Blake's worried look persisted as she answered her old friend. "It was about Adam."

Ilia faced back to the sink as she cleaned her plate, a scowl grew on her face as she finished with the plate. "That person, Adam, he's not good for you, Blake. Don't go looking for him," Ilia ordered with her back facing Blake. "You're a sweet person, and he doesn't deserve you."

"I wasn't planning on it, anyways, we have a job for today. Doctor Henry told Lily and I about a cave of nightstalkers near the town," Blake explained as her face relaxed into a more neutral look.

"Nightstalker? What's that?" Ilia asked as she walked out of the house with Blake and Lily in tow.

"The doctor said that they're a cross between a coyote and a rattlesnake; It has the head and tail of a rattlesnake and the abdomen and legs of a coyote. He also said that they're venomous," Blake explained as Ilia walked over to the lodge. As she entered the lodge, walking straight towards the doctor's room.

Doctor Henry greeted the three of them with a pleasant smile and a welcoming wave. "What can I help you three with today?"

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the Nightstalkers?" Ilia asked.

Doctor Henry rubbed his chin in thought before remembering one important detail. "Ah, yes. They can turn invisible, so watch for any distortions in the light. I want Lily to go with you two for safety. And speaking of your safety I want to give you two these," Henry said as he handed Blake and Ilia two odd pistols and two small sacks filled with ammunition. "These are plasma pistols, they fire a slow but powerful cluster of plasma. There should be enough ammo in those sacks for at least ten full magazines."

Ilia reached into the bag, pulling out an energy cell. "What's this, the ammo?" Ilia questioned.

"Yes," Doctor Henry said. "You put them in like so," Henry demonstrated how to insert the ammunition into the pistol for the two girls. As he finished he gave the girls five stimpacks each, and some combat armor. "Be careful, and good luck," Henry said as the two girls along with Lily set out for the cave.

"Lily, do you have any weapons to use, in case we have to fight?" Blake asked as they climbed the slope surrounding the town.

"Of course dearie! I have a big sword for close encounters, and a carbine for ranged battles. Your grandmother can handle herself!" Lily said with confidence as they reached the mouth of the cave. Ilia darkened her skin, so as to blend in with the walls of the cave. Blake loaded Gamble Shroud and Ilia did the same to her weapon as they began to enter the cave.

The cave was dark and damp and it provided little light for the three explorers to utilize on their mission. However, the darkness was of no concern to the young girls as they were fanus and could see in the dark far better than any human. They moved in a triangular formation, with Lily leading the group with her carbine in hand, Blake on the rear left flank and Ilia on the right. They stepped in sync with Lily, so as to mask their numbers. As they moved onward, the hair on the back of their necks began to rise as their senses sharpened for the inevitable battle.

It all started when Lily lurched back, then began to spray bullets at something in front of her. "Lily! What's happening?!" Blake shouted as she took aim from Lily's side, finding nothing but some shimmers in the dark cave.

"Nightstalkers have found us, Dearies! Get ready to fight!" the motherly nightkin shouted as she reloaded her carbine. Ilia drew her weapon and began firing at the shimmers as did Blake with Gambol Shroud. The three of them continued the firefight until no more shimmers could be seen. As they reloaded their weapons with a full magazine, Blake and Ilia looked at what it was that attacked Lily.

"Damn, his description was really accurate…" Ilia said with a mix of worry and shock in her voice. Blake put a hand on Ilia's shoulder and silently nodded in agreement. "We should get going, I'm sure there are more of these things."

They continued their trek deeper into the cavern, only to hear a faint rattling noise in front of them. Something lunged at Ilia as the rattling noise got louder and louder. She managed to dive out of the way just in time as Blake landed a stab at the now dying nightstalker. She turned Gambol Shroud into its pistol form as Ilia aimed her whip forward, her index finger lightly resting on the trigger.

Two more nightstalkers lunged at Ilia. The first was hit by Ilia, headshotting the hybrid predator, while the second landed a bite on her left leg. She screamed out in pain, pulling out the plasma pistol and shooting it in the body multiple times. As its grip on her leg loosened, three more night stalkers began to circle Lily in a predatory manor, dodging the ocasional swing by Lily's sword. She looked over to Blake to see her holding Gambol Shroud in one hand and the plasma pistol in the other, slaughtering the offending creatures.

She turned back to face a crowd of five more of the predators slowly approaching her with a hunched stance, their heads ducking just under their shoulders, their snake tongues flicking out every few seconds. Ilia took a defensive stance with her injured leg positioned behind her. She swung her weapon back, then snapped it forward, striking the leading member, slashing its neck as blood poured out of the wound. The remaining four continued their approach, but slowed the pace at which they moved. Then, as if a signal shot through them, all four of the night stalkers lunged at her as Ilia prepped for another attack.

Ilia took a wide stance, wrapping her arm that held the weapon around her stomach. Then, when the attackers were all in the air, she screamed in a semi-war cry as adrenaline pulsed through her veins, and snapped the arm back into its initial position, the weapon turning into its whip form, slashing the stomach of all four of the creatures. A sudden thud could be heard as they all dropped dead.

A tinge of pain coursed through her as she clutched her injured leg. She watched as Blake ran over to Lily, killing the remaining night stalkers in the process. Ilia limped over to Blake and Lily, still clutching her wounded leg.

"Ilia! Are you ok? What happened?" Blake asked as she turned to her friend.

Ilia grimaced as another pulse of pain shot through her before she began to explain. "One of those things, bit me in the leg, did the doctor tell you if they're venomous?" Ilia asked as Blake nodded with concern. "I think it's taking effect," Ilia grunted, trying to overcome the pain.

Ilia began to slouch down, her eyes closed and she showed no signs of breathing. "ILIA!" Blake shouted with desperation. "Lily, we have to get her out of here!" she shouted as she picked Ilia up bridal style and ran to the exit of the cave with Lily following close behind.

She slid down the slope, dashing towards the entrance gate of Jacobstown. Blake rushed past Marcus and into the lodge. She brushed past the nightkin who were shooting her odd and confused looks. Her vision began to distort as tears began to well up in her eyes. Doctor Henry turned to face her, receiving an incoherent string of words from Blake as she tried to explain what happened through her sniffles and crying.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine" doctor Henry reassured her as he set Ilia down on the operating table. "I'll administer some antivenom that should cure her. As for you, Blake, you should get some rest."

Blake followed Lily out of the operating room and into the lobby of the lodge. One of the nightkin approached her with an antagonizing tone. "What are you doing here, human?" the nightkin questioned.

"I'm just waiting," Blake said as she crossed her arms defensively.

"Waiting for what?" the nightkin asked with a huff.

Blake shot a hostile glare at the nightkin before giving her answer. "A friend." She was growing increasingly hostile, the adrenaline from sprinting back to Jacobstown with Ilia in her arms still flowing through her veins. The nightkin took a few steps back, caught off guard by the young fanus' hostility. Lily placed a calming hand on Blake's shoulder to put her at ease.

"Thanks Lily."

"No problem dearie! You should go get some rest, I'll take Ilia to Marcus' house once she's all fixed up" Lily reassured her as Blake headed back to her place of rest. As Blake walked back to Lily's house, a single thought lingered in her mind. 'Why is it I always run away from my problems?'

X

Ilia awoke to find herself lying in a bed with a tube stuck into her arm. Her vision was blurry at first, but it started to clear up as her eyes began to focus on her surroundings.

"So you're awake, are you feeling alright?" Henry asked as he approached her with a clipboard in hand.

"What happened?" Ilia asked with a yawn.

Doctor Henry rubbed his chin before answering her quandary. "You were with Blake and Lily exploring the Nightstalker caves when you were bit. Blake and Lily took you straight to me so I could treat your condition."

"Am I alright now?" Ilia asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Yes, you're fine, but you'll be staying here for two days so that the antidote can take full effect. However, because you were wounded, Lily and Blake were unable to find the source of the nightstalker invisibility," Doctor Henry said as he took a seat next to her.

"Where are Lily and Blake?" Ilia asked.

A frown appeared on the doctor's face. "They're going back to the cave to look for the source."

"I should be with them!" A look of determination graced Ilia's face.

"No, you need to recover and I'm here to make sure you do," Doctor Henry said with a stern look on his face.

Ilia's face contorted into an angry expression as her brow furrowed and a sharp frown formed on her face. "And to pass the time I have some questions to ask you, starting with this weapon of yours," Henry asked as he held up her weapon.

"And give me one reason why I should tell you anything, human," Ilia snapped.

"You say that as if you aren't one yourself," Henry said with a calm tone, putting down her weapon.

"Now do I look human?!" Ilia shouted as her skin turned its dark red tint.

"Interesting, I've never seen a human that could do that; does your skin color change with your emotional state?" He asked.

"Why should I, a proud fanaus, answer any of your questions? All humans have done for us was show us how powerful we are together. Aside from that, the only thing humans have done was oppress us, enslave us, and kill us!" Ilia shouted in rage at Doctor Henry.

"Is that why you sympathize with the supermutants and nightkin? It must feel quite strange, being antagonized by the nightkin for being human when you're not one."

Ilia had had enough, in a pure fit of anger she lunged at Doctor Henry, trying to land a solid punch to his face. However, much to her surprise, he dodged it and put her in a headlock.

"Ilia, I'm trying to help you, not hurt you, but if you come at me like that again, I'll do more than just put you in a headlock, understand?"

"Yea…" Ilia said with hesitation as he released his hold. She had never thought a human of his age was capable of unarmed combat.

Doctor Henry silently nodded his head with approval. "Are you calmed down?"

"Yes," Ilia said with a stern tone as she stiffened her posture.

"That's good to hear. Now what can you tell me who you are?"

Ilia sighed. There was no avoiding this conversation, might as well get it over with. "I'm a Faunus, a race of humanoids who have a single, physical animal trait," the chameleon faunus explained.

"So Faunus have a distinct phenotype, but what about the genetics? Surely these features were the cause of some genetic mutation, right?" Henry asked with excitement as he scribbled down notes.

"I guess. When it comes to faunus and genetics, they can hear and see better than humans."

Doctor henry continued to write down the information before asking another question. "How are traits passed down from generation to generation?"

"Well from what I know the only way to have a certain type of faunus is to have both parents be that type, and even then there's no guarantee it'll be the same physical trait." Ilia looked at the doctor whos seemed very interested in what she was saying.

"And what if two different fanaus or if a human and fanaus breed? Are there dominant traits like in hair color?"

"Well with those two situations, it could be any type of fanaus," Ilia explained.

"Interesting, very interesting."

"Can I ask you a question?" Ilia asked.

"Sure."

"How were nightkin and super mutants created from humans?" Ilia looked at Doctor Henry his relaxed form starting to stiffen as a nervous look overcame him.

"They were abducted and forcibly mutated."

"Like, against their will?" Doctor Henry nodded with a solemn look on his face. As Ilia started to ask another question the sound of heavy footsteps came from the other side of the door. Marcus came running into the room with distress painted all over his face. "NCR! There's half a dozen NCR troopers accompanied with two NCR Veteran Rangers!" Marcus explained as he stopped to catch his breath.

"What would the NCR want with us?" Henry asked as he reached behind his desk.

"Ilia do you know why they might be here?" Marcus questioned.

Ilia frowned as she tried to come up with a reasonable answer. "When Blake and I saved Lily, she was being harassed by a group of unmarked men. Is there a chance that they were NCR mercenaries?"

Marcus nodded. "It wouldn't be the first group of mercs that have antagonized our people. If you killed them, that would give them an excuse to attack us."

"Sorry…" Ilia said with her head held low.

"What's done is done. We should focus on monitoring the troops. Doctor, what's your take on this?" Marcus asked.

Doctor Henry displayed a frown on his face before speaking his mind. "If they've devoted two Veteran Rangers and six troops, then at the very least they're keeping an eye on us. If their numbers grow, then expect an attack. Don't make any risky moves until Blake and Lily return. We'll need them if we're going to mount a defense against them."

"Understood. I'll go back to my post." As the super mutant walked out of the room, Doctor Henry turned to Ilia with a comforting smile on his face. "Ilia, please get some rest." As she slowly lowered her head onto the pillow, she could hear the radio on her nightstand. A soothing voice emitted from the radio.

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. This is Mr. New Vegas here. Thank you very much for listening. We've got a few news stories to inform you of. This first one is an interesting one. A package courier found shot in the head near Goodsprings has reportedly regained consciousness, and has made a full recovery. I don't know about you dear listener, but that's a package service I can count on. As for the next story is about a little town called Primm. Primm has received a new sheriff, a robotic one to be exact. Its sure an… interesting solution to the powder ganger problem. The last story is about recent Legion activity. There have been rumblings from the NCR intelligence community that the Legion is planning a big attack. Due to security concerns, the suspected targets have not been released to the public. And with that, my time on the air is up, here's a song from me, to you." The radio flickered as the song played throughout the room as Ilia thought to Blake as the music put her to sleep.

"Heartaches by the number

Troubles by the score.

Everyday you love me less,

Each day I love you more."

X

Thank you all for reading! Again, I apologize for the lack of updates. Due to not having a someone to help me edit, It will take a bit longer for chapters to come out, but I intend to have the fifth chapter done before school starts for me.


	4. Life in the Legion

Adam Taurus

Adam heard two distinct voices talking with each other as his vision started to focus. He looked up to see a man wearing a fox's opened mouth for a hat and the second man who was sitting in a decent looking throne with bones and leather. The man in the throne was looking Adam strait in the eyes as he spoke to the fox-man.

"He put up quite the fight against my legionaries before he succumbed to fatigue. I would use him and his abilities to our advantage."

"And just how would we do that, Vulpes?" the man in the throne asked.

"Well just look at him. He has horns on his head, he is a physical embodiment of your legion. He is a bull turned to man, the perfect symbol for our cause. With enough training and discipline, he can be a powerful tool for you to use as you see fit," Vulpes explained.

"You really think I'll become a slave to you humans?" Adam hissed as his dark green eyes glared at the man in the throne.

"If I will it, yes. Otherwise you'll be bound to a cross to die slowly and painfully."

"I see. He still harbors hatred for his own kind," Vulpes said.

Adam's face started to morph into a visage of pure rage. "You _dare_ call me a human!?" Adam snarled as he continued to glare at the man.

"Vulpes. Send him to Dry Wells for training. Once his will is broken and his skills in combat are improved, send him to me for his first assignment." the man ordered.

"Certainly, Caesar," Vulpes pulled out a high dosage of Med-x and injected it into Adam's neck. His raging began to succumb to the anesthetic.

He felt a pounding on his head as his eyelids slowly opened, revealing many pairs of legs and a dirt covered ground. The pounding, Adam discovered, was the wooden butt of a firearm that was being slammed down onto his head. He could hear an irate voice shouting angrily in his direction.

"Get the fuck up you waste of mongrel shit!" the voice hollered in unending rage. Adam's sense began to sharpen as his remaining three senses restored to their natural state. He realized that the person insulting him was a human, a _very insolent_ human at that. Adam shot up from his prone position, only for him to be bashed back into the ground by the shouting human.

"You will get up when I _tell you_ , trainee! Do you understand you insignificant abortion of nature?!" the human spat down at Adam as the fanus' face became acquainted with the ground once more.

"You can burn in hell for all of eternity!" Adam shot back, a chilling silence following his counter-insult. The drill sergeant slowly walked over to Adam's down form, not a single word exiting his mouth. 'Well that finally shut him up' Adam thought with a smirk on his face.

"What. The. Fuck. Are. You. Smirking. At?" the sargent asked with the most pissed off tone Adam had ever heard as he lowered his mouth to Adam's ear. His smirk dissipated as he realized what he had done. Before he could answer, the human swiftly flipped Adam onto his back, taking his throat tightly within his grasp as he was pinned between the ground and the human who had sat himself on Adam's stomach.

"If you _ever_ speak to me like that again, I'll have you tied to a cross and lashed until you shut your incolent mouth. And if that won't stop your heathanus words, then the only solution would be death by starvation. We'll give you water, so you don't die within three days. It should take about a week or so, as you slowly feel your insides digesting your own body to stave off the starvation. After you're dead, well drag your body throughout the fort and skin you so that the Caesar may have a nice blanket. At least then you will have been of _some_ use to us" the drill sergeant sneered as he applied more of his body weight onto Adam's stomach.

As Adam looked away, he noticed a single boy was staring at him with a look of concern. Once the boy realized he had been spotted, he quickly looked forward in fear of the drill sergeant's punishment.

"Do you understand you hollow-headed fuck?!" Adam nodded his head, only to receive a swift but powerful punch to the throat. "I expect you to speak to me you unwanted pussy!"

"Yes…" Adam choked out as the drill sergeant got up from his seat on Adam's stomach.

As Adam got up, he received swift knee to the testicles. "Did I tell you to get up!? Stay there until the sun sets!" As he said so, that same human boy gave him the same concerned look, however this time he didn't get off scot free. "Trainee Brutus! What in the name of Caesar are you doing staring at that freak of nature! You wanna get a better look at him?!" The drill sergeant shouted at the boy.

"N-no drill sergeant!" Brutus answered.

"Don't you fucking lie to me you little shit! If you're so damn fascinated with him, why don't you join our own little mascot! Get on the ground and don't get up until he does! Do you understand me trainee?!"

Brutus nodded his head as he joined Adam on the ground. "Now! With those pests taken care of, welcome to Dry Wells! This is your home until the Caesar requires your service! While you are here, you will listen, obey, and when ordered to, respond. You will learn how to shoot, stab, and throw! After that you will learn about how our military is structured, tactics we use, and who our enemies are. Now allow me to show you to your bunks!" The drill sergeant shouted as he led Adam and the other trainees to their place of rest.

As they arrived Adam took a good, long look at the shithole that was their home. It was the size of three large sheds smashed together and six bunk beds crammed into it with two doors, one at the north side and one on the south.

"What's this?" Adam asked.

The drill sergeant's face lit up with sadistic happiness. "Glad you asked, trainee! This is where you and the rest of you worthless cunts will be staying until you are deployed to the frontline," he spoke as ten armed guards showed them into their home. "And if you so much as contemplate about escaping, I'll have your kneecaps shot out," The drill sergeant whispered into Adam's ear. As he walked up to the front of the group a sadistic smirk grew on his face. "Last, but not least, I'll show you maggots where you'll be learning about this glorious Legion."

The DS led them to a run-down concrete building with no windows and only a single, broken wooden door at the front. "Well god-damn! This place looks like a piece of shit. You know what trainees? I think this place needs a good-old pick-me-up! The best part is… you'll have to look for the resources! You'll have to find fifty pounds of wood, eighty screws, and one hundred pounds of adhesive."

"Why are we doing this?" Adam asked angrily.

"Good question, shit-heel! You see, when you fuck-wits get onto the frontline, you'll need to be able to set up raiding camps to destroy our foes. In other words, you need to be self-sufficient without any reliance on the main fort," The DS responded.

"And what about communication?" Adam questioned.

"For fuck's sake. You ask too many questions, but since I'm such a _gentleman_ I'll answer you," The DS said sarcastically. "We have couriers that we send out if there's any important information. But enough about logistics, go get those resources! You'll do this by pairing up with a partner, have fun fuck-heads."

Adam looked around for a good partner, but none came to mind. 'Damn. I can't find anyone; Oh well,' Adam thought. He felt something bump into his leg. He looked down to see the boy known and Brutus looking up at him with a scared look on his face.

"W-would y-you b-be my p-p-partner?" the young boy asked, practically shaking as if he were freezing to death. Adam glared down at the boy, putting up a strong facade. "Yes, but only if you do as I say," Adam ordered. Brutus nodded as he followed Adam over to a forest with an axe in hand. As they moved towards a cluster of threes, Adam began to notice how intimidated appeared. 'He will make for a good subordinate,' Adam thought as they walked to the trees. The two of them were greeted by a large, dying forest, dead, rotting trees littering the landscape.

"Lets get started, boy." The two of them worked throughout the rest of their day. As the two of them walked back to the drill sergeant with the wood, Brutus began to talk to Adam. "Mr. Adam… why are you here?" the boy asked with renewed confidence.

Adam scoffed at the question, finding it insulting, but decided to answer it so as to seem more benevolent. "I was captured, but not before downing dozens of men."

"Wow! You killed dozens of legionaries!? You must be _very_ strong," Brutus said with a star-struck look in his eyes.

"Now _you_ will answer a question of _mine_. Why are _you_ here?" Adam inquired.

Brutus looked away from Adam nervously as he gave his answer. "I was part of a tribe that was conquered by the Legion. My father was killed defending our tribe while my mother and I were enslaved while I was an infant. When I was old enough I was enrolled to become a Legionary."

"Do you want to avenge your father?" Adam asked as his eyebrows furrowed.

"I… don't know. First I want to protect my mother, then once she's safe I'll figure out what I'll do next."

"Follow me," Adam said with absolution.

Brutus cocked his head to the side with confusion "I understand your power, but why?"

"It's simple. I will rise through the ranks of this Legion, and then I will become the leader. And you will become my right hand, the vessel of my power that will dominate this awful world."

"And you will protect my mother in exchange for my servitude?" Brutus asked as Adam's eyebrows raised and a smirk grew on his face.

"Yes."

"Then I will follow you," Brutus said as he followed Adam back to the training camp.

As they went to bed, Adam's mind began to wander through his memories. He drifted off to sleep, a vision of a burning forest entered his mind.

The forest was filled with black, billowing smoke escaping through the canopy while the forest floor was coated in flames as screams came from deeper within the burning forest. Adam was paralyzed in fear at the image before him. He looked only a few feet in front of where he was to see a younger version of himself standing there with fear. His younger body was shaking; It was the first time he had seen such a tragedy. All those fanaus dead, and not a single news story about it in the human news channels. It was then that he learned for the first time, that humans didn't care about the fanaus.

His somber slumber was interrupted as the sound of the creaky door being opened entered his ears. His eyes shot opened to find a woman in rags with food in her hands. He watched her silently as she moved over to Brutus' sleeping form. She gently shook him until he awoke, she gave the young boy the food and swiftly left the barracks.

'That must be his mother. I could gain from this,' Adam thought as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. 'I'll make my move in the morning at breakfast,' Adam said to himself before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Adam awoke the next day to the sound of gunshots and the DS shouting at him, Brutus, and the rest of the trainees.

"You fucking dung piles! We're being attacked by some raiders and here you shit-heads are, sleeping like fucking babies! Get your asses up and grab a spear!" the DS shouted as he shoved spears into their hands. "Consider this your first training exercise in combat! Now kill those savages!" Adam met up with Brutus and they headed out of the barracks with spears in hand.

It looked like a battle from the great war in Remnant. Hundreds of soldiers facing off against each other. It was clear to Adam that the Legion held the advantage in the fight, but they will definitely sustain high numbers of casualties. Adam led Brutus and three other trainees to the right flank of the enemy forces. The Legion forces were holding their position on three hills shaped like a reverse arrowhead. They had built entrenchments for more cover and were slaughtering the offending forces with shotguns and light machine guns while the attackers were wielding light machine guns and pistols.

Adam led his team around the right mound, each of their spears clenched tightly in their hands. Five men leaped out from around the bend with guns in hand. They aimed and fired at the team of five, but before they could fire, Adam speared four of them with a single thrust. His attack was so fast that Brutus and the other trainees only saw him standing, then the four men impaled on his spear. The remaining man aimed at Brutus and fired, hitting him in the shoulder. Adam grabbed one of the dead raider's pistol and shot the fifth and final raider in the head. Adam rushed over to Brutus. If he wanted to gain his trust, he would have to put the first foot forward to prove it. "Brutus! Are you ok?" Adam asked as he rushed to the young boy's side.

"It hurts!" Brutus shouted as he clenched his wound.

"Don't worry, the pain will go away soon. You three!" Adam shouted at the other three trainees. "Bring him to the medical tent," Adam ordered.

"But what about you?" one trainee asked.

"I'll hold this position." Adam smirked with confidence as he picked up an unused spear. 'This will be a perfect chance to prove my worth as a soldier and hopefully climb the ranks of this organization,' Adam thought as he took a battle stance with spear in hand. Ten more raiders came charging around the corner as Adam rushed them. He took a wide horizontal swipe, giving five of them enormous gashes on their lower abdomen. The other half drew their pistols and submachine guns and fired. Adam dashed out of the way, spearing two through the neck with the spear. He took two pistols from the fallen raiders and began to fill them with lead as a third wave came from around the mound.

"I hope you like the sight of your own blood!" the leader of the third wave threatened Adam as the twenty men behind him took out their guns. "I don't know who you are, but I will ha-" the raider's rant was stopped mid-sentence as Adam activated his semblance, grabbing a combat knife from the leader's chest and stabbed him through the throat, both the blade and the hilt emerging from the other side of his neck. Adam glared down his remaining foe's, a look of pure concentration painted on his face.

There was a few seconds of silence until the raiders took aim and started firing in Adam's direction. He ducked and weaved to avoid the incoming bullets, slaughtering all twenty raiders in a matter of minutes.

Adam waited for a fourth wave to come, but it never did. He heard the shouts of victory from the Legion troops. It was only when he realized that the battle was over, that he also realized he had sustained multiple bullet wounds in his arms and legs. The pain came like a tsunami wave on a house of straw. The last thing he saw before blacking out was two men carrying a medical stretcher. A single thought went through his mind before he succumbed to the pain. 'Is this where I die?'

AN: I have to admit writing this chapter was the hardest thus far, although the Adam character short will help with where I want Adam to go character-wise.

Yes, I know it was shorter, but I wanted to write to where there would be a good ending, not to a certain word count.

Again, thanks for reading and see you next chapter.


	5. Never the Same

Cinder Fall

Cinder awoke the next day to a grinning Courier who was shaking her frantically. She waved him off, only to be shaken once more by the giddy Courier. "What?" she asked with irritation as she climbed out of her bed roll.

"Its pay day!" Courier Six shouted with glee as his body shook with pure energy.

"Payday?" Cinder was confused. The last time she checked, they weren't employed by anyone.

"Yea, we're gonna sell the Q-35 Matter Modulator."

Cinder slowly nodded, remembering the previous day's events. "Its that plasma rifle, right?"

"Yup, and I know just who we'll sell it to," Six said with a grin on his face.

Cinder look up at Six as she rolled up her bed roll. "You aren't thinking about selling it to the people who tried to kill us for it, are you?"

Six gave a loud and boisterous laugh. "God no. They would probably try to kill us for it if we went anywhere near their turf," Six chuckled as he began to pack up his things.

The two of them, along with ED-E got back on the path. As they walked, the Courier started up some conversation with his feminine companion. "Hey Cinder, that's a good look for you."

"You like it? I decided to dress like the locals and to conceal my identity with the shades. Why do you dress like that?" Cinder asked, bouncing the question back to Six.

"I've always liked cowboys, so I decided to dress like one. I also have to have _some_ sort of protection, hence the armor."

"That's cute, you want to dress like your idols," Cinder giggled, trying her best to hide it, ED-E laughing along-side her.

"Ha ha, _very_ funny," Six said with an eye-roll. "Now let's get a move on. We should get there by noon. The rest of the morning was filled with small talk and banter, ED-E taking the side of Cinder on most occasions. As they got closer, Cinder could see the ruins of buildings in the distance.

Cinder got Six's attention and pointed to the ruined buildings in the distance. "What happened?"

"A great war about two hundred years ago. It was so quick, and yet so destructive…" Cinder took note of the distant look in his eyes when he answered her question. ED-E gave off a solemn beep as they moved closer to the destroyed buildings. As they got closer, Cinder saw something gleam from the rubble of a ruined building. She walked over and picked it up, examining to item.

"What's this?" Cinder asked Six.

"It's a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Cap. They say if you collect fifty of them you get a treasure but those are only rumors." Cinder shrugged and pocketed it. The three of them continued to traverse the ruins until they reached their destination. It was a small shack make out of metal with a window and a robot behind the glass. There was a sizable building with a fence around the perimeter and armed guards patrolling the premises.

"Is this the place?" Cinder asked, Six nodding in response. "Is it safe?"

"Of course it is. There are armed guards, so if anyone comes threatening us they'll be taken care of quickly," Six said as he walked up to the booth. "Hey there, I'm here to make a sale. What can you give me for this?"

"I can buy that from you for five hundred caps," the robot from the other side of the glass replied.

"Come on! This worth three thousand caps!" Six shouted in protest.

"That is the price," the robot replied.

"Fine, I'll take it," The Courier said as he put the weapon into the chute and a pouch of caps ejected from it.

"Is there anything else you would like to sell or buy?" the robot asked.

"Yea, I got some spare ammo," Six replied as he materialized the ammunition, placing it in the chute. Cinder watched as he tried and failed to haggle with the robot. It was quite amusing to say the least. He clearly wasn't the best when it came to haggling. After a few minutes, Six returned with a decent bounty of caps clutched in his hand.

"How much did you get for everything?" Cinder inquired as the Courier pocketed the caps.

He gave a victorious grin as he answered. "One thousands seven hundred and five caps."

"Is that a lot?" she asked.

"You bet. It was a decent haul, and I did have a large amount of ammo that I never really used, on top of all the valuables I had stored up."

"So what will we do now?"

"We look for work. Although I got a lot of caps, it's not enough to get us both into New Vegas. We'd need two thousand caps per person. Since we don't even have enough for one of us, we'll need more caps and we can get more caps by doing some odd jobs," Six explained.

Cinder rubbed her chin in thought. "But where will you find a job?"

"I got one for you." Cinder, Six, and ED-E turned to the man who spoke.

"How much does it pay?" Cinder asked.

"At least three hundred caps, more if you do the job quick."

A smile formed on Six's face as his hopes began to rise. "What's the job?" the Courier inquired.

"Just gotta deliver a package, that's all. I can show you where the drop-off location is on a map."

"Delivering a package? Well it's a good thing i'm a courier." Six joked.

"Really? Well then this job should be a piece of cake for you." the man said as he sent them on their way. Cinder took note as the scenery went from the ruins from before, to a few scattered buildings in the blazing sands of the Mojave. As they continued their walk, the sun began to set and the sweltering heat turned to a sharp, cold climate. Cinder lit a flame in her palm, warming her up a bit.

"Hey, Cinder, do you want to set up camp for the night?"

"Sure, but if we do, we won't get those extra caps," Cinder reminded the Courier.

"I'd rather our pockets be a little lighter than us being dead. Anyways, the Mojave's night sky is truly a beauty to behold. I think I see a campsite right up on that ledge."

"Then let's get up there."

They reached the campsite; Cinder set up the campfire while Six laid the bedrolls down near the fire. "Hey Six," Cinder said as she took a seat on the bench that was near the campfire. "Are you ever lonely out here?" Cinder asked as she looked up at the night's sky, countless stars dotting the expanse.

"No, I got ED-E with me," Six said with a smile as he sat next to Cinder and began to cook dinner over the fire.

"That's not what I mean." There were a few seconds of silence before the Courier responded.

"You mean humans, right?" Cinder nodded her head as she looked at his face. "Well there have been times that i've felt very lonely."

"How did you cope?" The Courier laughed at the questioned that she posed.

"You don't. From all my adventures in the Mojave i've learned a few things about people. One of those things is that humans are naturally social creatures. Most can't deal with extended periods of isolation. What you _can_ do is look forward to when you _will_ see another person."

"Was there ever a time you felt lonely?" Six asked, looking into Cinder's amber eyes with a smile.

"I'd rather not disclose that," Cinder said, stiffening her posture.

"Fine by me, but just know when you are ready to talk, I'll be here."

"Thanks for that," Cinder responded as a small smile emerged on her face. Suddenly a large surge of pain coursed through her left arm, forcing her to scream out in pain.

"Cinder!" Six shouted with concern as he rushed over to her side, holding her gently in his arms to prevent her from falling down. "What's wrong with your arm, Cinder?"

"It… hurts," she choked out as a few tears of pain slid down her cheeks.

"Alright, I'll get you something for the pain," Six said as he started flicking through his inventory. He pulled out a syringe and injected it into her left arm; the fluid began to take effect as Cinder's pain began to subside and eventually fade away.

"Thanks Six," Cinder said as the Courier wiped away her tears.

"No problem, but something needs to be done about arm, do you know what caused the pain?" Six asked with a concerned look on his face.

Cinder looked away before answering him. "It has something to do with the one I serve."

"The one you serve?"

"Her name is Salem, and she's the reason I have the ability to summon fire."

"So she gave you elemental powers?" Six asked.

Cinder shook her head. "No, she gave me a… tool that allowed me to take those powers from someone who already had them."

Six rubbed his chin inquisitively. "What sort of tool is that?"

"A creature that at the moment has taken residence inside my left arm."

"So it's a parasite?" Cinder nodded. "Then if that's the case, then it means it could spread to the rest of your body."

"So how could you get rid of it?"

A serious look grew on the Courier's face before answering. "Amputation. I know it sounds drastic, but it's the only way to stop the spreading, and I also know a place where I could get you a damn good prosthetic."

"I'll consider it… now what's for dinner?" Cinder asked, hoping to get her mind off of the subject.

"Pork and beans straight out of the can!" Six said as he handed her the heated can and a spoon. The two of them ate in silence before going to bed.

* * *

The next morning Cinder awoke to the Courier singing along to a song being played on the radio. She decided to stay silent and observe his behavior. She watch as he gave quite the boastful performance.

"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day. Hardly spoke to folks around him didn't have too much to say," the Courier sung.

'He certainly does love his songs,' Cinder thought as she continued to watch in silence.

"No one dared to ask his business no one dared to make a slip; the stranger there among them had a big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip."

'Come to think of it, there aren't really that many catchy songs in Remnant.'

"It was early in the morning when he rode into the town. He can riding from the south side slowly looking all around. He's an outlaw loose and runnin came a whisper from each lip and he's here to do some business with a big iron on his hip, big iron on his hip," Six sang as he turned around to face the observing Cinder, a smirk growing on his face.

"Like what you heard?" Six asked with a grin.

"You wish. Let's get moving, that package won't deliver itself."

"You say that as if I don't know," Six countered as he and Cinder began to pack up. The three of them set off to their destination. As they moved closer to the destination, all three of them began to feel uneasy.

"You sure this is the right place, Courier?" Cinder asked as they approached a maze of ruined buildings.

"Yea… you feeling uneasy?" Six asked. Cinder nodded. "So am I, just be ready for anything." ED-E shuddered in fear.

Then, explosions detonated, trapping the three of them with the ensuing rubble.

"It's a trap!" Six shouted. "Run!" Six lead ED-E and Cinder through a doorway, only for him to get shot in the right ear. He reached for the gun, only to receive a slash across the cheek with an improvised bayonet. Six pulled out Chance's Knife and stabbed the assailant in the throat, ripping the blade sideways out of the neck. He heard Cinder scream in pain as he engaged a second man in combat. He pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit it. Six threw it at the attacker, the stick exploded the second it hit the ground, blowing off the man's legs.

"Cinder, just hold on! I'm on my way!" Six shouted franticly as he tried to reach his female companion. As he turned the corner he saw three men dragging her off as she struggled in vain to break free. He rushed towards her, but not before her left arm was lobbed off my a man wielding a hatchet. He couldn't bear the hear the gut-wrenching screams that accompanied each swing of the hatchet. Luckily Six managed to kill those who were restraining her. However, she was knocked out due to the pain; Six held her bridal style as he summoned the Big Mountain Transportalponder.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Cinder," Six whispered to her as he fired the gun, each of their bodies being transported to Big Mountain. He and Cinder's unconscious form were in the Sink. He was greeted by the personality modules, only for him to dash to the Auto-Doc. "Auto-Doc, cauterize the wound and don't let her bleed out!" Six shouted as he moved her into the chamber. The Courier slumped down out of exhaustion, now it was up to the Auto-Doc to patch her up. Six took his time getting up and walked over to the Sink.

"Welcome back sir. Is everything alright?" the personality matrix asked.

"I sure hope so…" Six responded solemnly. 'I failed to protect her, I failed my hippocratic oath. I need to improve,' Courier Six thought.

"Don't worry, the Auto-Doc will do his job. You need to get some rest."

"No. I still have a patient to care for. I'll be in the bedroom, alert me once Cinder's operation is complete."

"Of course sir."

The Courier began to think of what to do next. 'Well I guess I don't have to worry about the amputation. However I'll have to sanitize her wound by hand, then create a connector that I can attach the prosthetic arm to. I can create the built-in weapon systems, but I'll have to leave the creation of the arm to the Think Tank,' Six thought, grabbing a piece of paper and writing everything down. He materialized some electronic parts and scrap metal. He got to work, brainstorming and building prototypes for hours. As he was finishing up on his sixth prototype the Sink called him to Auto-Doc.

"Sir! Your patient is ready for you." Six came rushing into the room to see Cinder standing there in a patient's gown.

"Six… where are we?"

"Big Mountain, but that's not important, how are you feeling?"

"I feel a bit weak, but I can still walk."

"Good, you should rest up. I have some business to attend to," Six said as he led Cinder to the bedroom.

She saw one of the prototype connectors and picked it up. "What's this?" Cinder asked.

"While you were being operated on I was creating some prototypes," the Courier explained.

"Prototypes for what?" Cinder asked as she began to raise her eyebrows.

"For your prosthetic. There would need to be something to connect your shoulder to the prosthetic and that's what those are."

"I see. When will this prosthetic be ready?" Cinder asked as Six headed to the doorway.

"A day or two. Once i'm back i'll sanitize your wound and have the Auto-Doc insert the connector."

Cinder sighed. "Is there anything else I need to know?" she asked.

"Yea, just one more thing, don't leave this area. You're safe in here, but not anywhere else."

"I understand, stay here and get some rest." As the Courier went towards the Think Tank Dome he began to prepare himself mentally. The Think Tank were a handful, not to mention quite irritating. But this new project he had for them would be just what they need, something to occupy their time. The door slid open as the Courier walked up the ramp into the dome.

"Ah! The lobotomite returns!" the boisterous voice of Dr. Borous echoing around the walls of scientific quarantine.

"Has he come back to taunt us with his freedom?" Dr. Klein asked.

"I can't wait to see his… breathing cycle," Dr. Dala said with excitement.

"I hope you didn't bring any of your disgusting Rob-Co tech with you," Dr. 0 sneered. Doctor 8 gave off his normal greeting of soundwaves to the Courier.

"Hey, Think Tank, I need you to build me something."

"Hm, the lobotomite asking favors of the mighty THINK TANK?! How preposterous!" Doctor Borous exaggerated.

"I'm serious. I need you five to create a prosthetic arm, I want Dala, 0, and Klein to head the project, since it will require knowledge of both robotics and human anatomy. Klein, how much have you been able to remember of your knowledge of human anatomy?" Six asked.

"With your assistance I was able to recover information on the limbs of a human, so I should be fine with this project. But what will _we_ gain from helping you?" Klein questioned.

"Another project I had in mind, and one that is far larger in scope and size. I know all of you are bored out of your minds and need something to do."

"Alright lobotomite, you have a deal."

"I'll send you the specifications I want for the prosthetic, and good luck," Six said as he walked back to the Sink. The Courier found Cinder slumbering on the bed with her body spread out across the mattress. Six picked up the newest connector he had made. It was a ball joint with a pin that would go into the shoulder. I also had some light metal plating giving the appearance of a shoulder pauldron for some added protection. Six got on his terminal and sent the Think Tank the specifics and decided to rest for the rest of the day. He was woken abruptly by something hard and cold poking him repeatedly.

"Hey! Stop laying on my mugs!" the Courier opened his eyes to see Muggy poke him violently. Six rose from his position and went over to wake up Cinder. However she had beat him to the punch.

"Six, are you up?" Cinder asked as she came into the room. "I am now, are you ready for the operation?" Cinder nodded her head. "I'm ready when you are."

"Ok," Six said as he picked up the connector. "I'm going to have the Auto-Doc do the procedure, but I'll be here in-case it needs a bit of the human touch."

"I understand," Cinder said as she stepped into the Auto-Doc. The Courier took a seat on the ground and began to think to himself. 'It's good she got that parasite out of her, but what happened to her will likely stay with her for the rest of her life. I need to make sure she's mentally sound. If she were to have a mental breakdown in the middle of combat she could get herself killed. The quicker I can get her to the Lucky 38, the better.'

"All done!" the Auto-Doc said as it released Cinder from the chamber. The connecter was properly inserted and the sedative was starting to wear off.

"Cinder, I need to talk with you," Six said as he took her hand and led her up to the Sink Balcony. The two of them took a seat on a bench and looked up at the night sky. Before he could talk, Cinder's facade of began to crumble. It started with sniffles, then it transformed into sobs, and ultimately ended with an all out cry. Cinder buried her head into the Courier's chest as her only arm wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly.

"Six…" All of the things that had happened to her in the Mojave were fresh in her mind. The initial arrival, the battle at Robco headquarters, and the ambush in the ruins. "Please… don't leave me. I tried to act tough, I tried to be composed. But I'm… I'm…" Cinder said as tears streamed down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"Scared," the Courier said, finishing her sentence for her.

"What?" Cinder asked as she wiped away the tears and looked up at him. He was looking up at the stars.

"You're scared. So was I," Courier Six looked into Cinder's eyes. "I thought I was about to die. Even to this day i'm surprised I didn't."

"What happened?" Cinder asked, her tears drying up.

"I was shot in the head twice at point blank."

Cinder began to giggle. "That's quite the tall tale."

Six rolled his eyes. "Well it's true, and I have the scars to prove it," he said as he parted the hair that fell over his forehead, showing two bullet wound scars. The pyromancer was speechless. "I was saved by Doc Mitchell. He patched me up and sent me on my way. I remember crying before regaining my composure and leaving. I don't know why I cried, it must have been something to do with my past. Maybe it was the kindness he showed me, or just all that stress building up. Regardless, everyone has scars. Sometimes you just have to let them heal." Cinder looked into his sorrow-filled eyes.

"Courier Six, thank you for everything you've done for me," Cinder said as she kissed him on the cheek. "Well… your welcome." Six said, a bit flustered by her kiss. Cinder repositioned herself so that she was sitting in his lap, facing the night's sky.

"Six, do you believe in destiny?" Cinder asked as she continued to star gaze.

She could feel the Courier's chest vibrating from laughter. "No," he chuckled. "Destiny is for those who feel they don't have a say in where their life goes. I believe in free will, I'm not going to let anyone lead me away from my path." Just then a bright light danced across the night sky.

After a few hours of silent star-gazing, the two of them decided to go to bed. As the two of them entered the Sink, the Courier turned on the jukebox, which was playing a familiar song. As they both fell asleep, the lyrics comforted Cinder.

" _ **Blue moon, you knew just what I was there for**_

 _ **You heard me saying a prayer for,**_

 _ **Someone I really could care for."**_

As the lyrics turned into background noise, Cinder moved closer to the sleeping Six and held Six's hand with her own. In the darkness of the room, she could have sworn she saw some large scars on his back.

AN: Please, If you find any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise, drop a review or message me so I can fix it as soon as possible. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know this one isn't as big as the second. The chapters will probably be shorter just so I won't have to replace quality with quantity. Thank you guys for understanding.

One last note, School will be starting up for me in about a week, so I'll have less time to write, I'll try to push out a chapter or two over the school year, but I can't promise anything.


	6. Covert Ops

Blake Belladonna

Blake was woken up by Lily as she shouted from the kitchen that breakfast was ready. Her mind was jumbled from the events of the previous day, Ilia getting bit, the increasing numbers of NCR soldiers skulking around Jacobstown, and Ilia having to be under the doctor's care. Now more than ever, she needed someone to talk to. 'Maybe I could talk with Lily,' she thought as she walked into the kitchen.

"Oh dearie! Good news, I talked with the doctor and your friend is going to be ok," Lily said as she pulled out a chair for Blake.

Blake sat down and gave a sigh of relief. "Lily, have you ever had a time in your life when you just kept running away from your problems?" Blake asked.

"Well I can't remember much of my past, dearie. But I can say that if you have a problem you can't solve on your own, you can always come to your family and friends, which is what i'm here for!" Lily said as she served Blake her breakfast and sat down at the table with her.

Blake smiled as she sipped her tea. "Thanks, Lily," Blake said. After she finished her breakfast, Blake went outside to the front of the fortifications.

"Good morning, Blake how are today?" Marcus asked as he greeted the young fanaus.

"I'm doing good, how about you?" Blake asked back.

"Good, nothing out of the ordinary so far," Marcus replied. As Blake was turning to head over to the lodge, she heard the sound of a rifle going off. The bullet ripped through her abdomen as she fell to the ground in pain. "Blake!" Marcus shouted as he ran her over to the lodge. As he barged through the double doors, Marcus saw Ilia looking on with a look of horror on her face.

"Doctor Henry! We need medical attention now!" Marcus bellowed.

"What happened?" Doctor Henry asked.

"She was shot in the abdomen by a sniper," Marcus answered as he placed Blake on a medical stretcher.

"Get her over to the operating table now," the doctor said with the utmost serious tone as he took out bandages, a bottle of alcohol, and medical instruments. First he sterilized the medical instruments by dipping them in the alcohol to prep them for the operation. Next, he injected some Med-X into Blake to numb her pain. Lastly he began the operation. "Marcus, you may go, make sure no one enters this room until I give the ok," Doctor Henry commanded.

"I will, doctor," Marcus said as he exited the room. Ilia ran up to Marcus, desperate to find out what happened. Marcus was bombarded with a string of questions, all of the pertaining to Blake's wellbeing.

"Ilia," Marcus said, putting his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "Everything will be ok. The doctor is operating on her as we speak, so please calm down."

Ilia decided to ask one final question. "Who did this to her?"

Marcus paused. If he were to tell her now, she would undoubtedly go after those who were responsible. And if she were to do that, it would only worsen the situation with the NCR.

"I don't know," Marcus lied. "But I'm sure Blake would love to see you after the operation." Ilia nodded, taking a step back from the door. Inside the room, doctor Henry was finishing up his operation. 'I've removed the bullet, now I just need to seal the wound,' he thought. Henry grabbed a stimpack and injected it into her body, speeding up the healing process. As a final step, the doctor wrapped her wound in bandages.

By that time the Med-X was starting to wear off and Blake was regaining consciousness.

"Doctor Henry?" Blake asked in a dazed state as she sat up.

"Hello Blake, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

"Yea, what happened?" she asked.

"You were shot, and I managed to save you," Doctor Henry explained.

"Who do you think shot me?" Blake asked.

"NCR. It was probably one of the NCR Rangers. They must be testing this settlement's reaction and response time. They did this by shooting you. By doing this they could see the medical response time, reaction it would garner, and if they could spot the position he was in," Doctor Henry explained.

"How do you know all of this?" Blake asked.

"Live in the Mojave long enough and you pick up on things like that."

"There's going to be a fight, aren't there?" Blake asked.

"It's only a matter of time. The nightkin are easily agitated, so the more they're poked, the more violent they will become," Henry explained. Just then, Ilia barged through the doors.

"Blake! You're ok, thank god!" Ilia cried as she gave her old friend a hug. "Don't worry, Blake. I'll find those responsible and give them a fitting punishment," Ilia said as she headed for the door, only for her hand to be grabbed by Blake.

"Please don't leave…" Blake begged. Ilia could feel how weak she was just by the strength of her grip.

"Ok, I'll stay for you," Ilia said with a warm smile on her face as she took a seat besides Blake's hospital bed. "Blake, I have a question for you."

"What is it Ilia?"

"Where did you go after you left the White Fang?" Ilia asked.

Blake paused. "I…"

Ilia calmly placed her hand over Blake's hand. "Its ok Blake, I won't be mad at you, I promise," Ilia said as she tried to calm Blake down.

"I went to a huntsman academy where I was put on a team of four. I was the only fanaus," Blake started.

"Did they treat you well? Did you ever tell them?"

"Yes and yes. My partner, Yang, was a great friend. She always backed me up but…"

"But what?" Ilia asked.

"I was attacked by Adam, Yang tried to save me… but she got her arm cut off."

"Really? A human sacrificed herself to protect you? I bet that felt nice," Ilia said.

"No, it didn't. It was _because_ of me that she lost her arm. I had to save her from Adam."

"I'm… sorry to hear that, Blake."

"You see, Ilia, not all humans hate the fanaus."

"Yea, but some still hate them like the Schnee's" Ilia retorted.

Blake sighed. She had a point. There still are people who despised the fanaus, and they'd be hard pressed to change their minds. "Ilia, please don't go off on a revenge quest, ok? I need you here, by my side."

"I promise Blake, I'll be here," Ilia said as she gave a yawn. "It's getting late, isn't it?" Ilia asked with a chuckle.

Blake looked out the window to see that the sun had already set. "Yea, you should go to the house to go to bed," Blake suggested, only to receive a stern shake of the head from Ilia.

"No, I said i'd stay with you so that's what i'll do," Ilia said as she defiantly crossed her arms.

"Alright," Blake said with a laugh. "You can stay," Blake said as Ilia fell asleep in Blake's lap. After a few minutes of thinking to herself, Blake fell asleep too.

"Oh Marcus, aren't they just such good friends," Lily said as she doted on the two of them.

"Yes, they do have quite the friendship. I only hope it can survive through what's to come," Marcus said as he walked back to his house. 'The NCR is getting more aggressive with their tactics. They're trying to provoke us, but as far as i'm sheriff here, I won't let that happen,' Marcus thought as he went to bed.

X

Ilia awoke to the sound of gunfire. She moved from her resting place by Blake's side and slipped out of the cabbin. The young fanaus teen saw that the NCR troopers were fighting off a swarm of orange-winged creatures that were attacking them. She pulled her weapon out from its holster and charged forward, ready for a fight. She noticed that there were a five NCR rangers, each leading a squad of four NCR troopers. Their squads were positioned in a semi-circle around the entrance to Jacobstown. Ilia rushed by their left flank, striking the creature's wings with her whip, tearing the webbing from its wings. Some of the troopers looked towards her, shocked to see her there.

Ilia, however, paid them no mind as she continued to fight off the giant insects. They fell like lambs to the slaughter. Two, three, four, five of the creatures fell from Ilia's hand as the remaining troopers took aim at the remaining insects. Once the fighting ceased, one of the NCR rangers approached her.

"Thanks for the back-up, I thought we were as good as dead. The name's Ariston," the ranger said, stretching out his hand.

Ilia shook it with a smile. "Mine's Ilia. what happened?"

Ariston shook his head in frustration. "We were coming up the slope when a whole swarm of these Cazadors ambushed us. Our numbers took a large hit, this was just a fraction of the forces we had before the ambush. We fled to this settlement to gain the high ground against them, but then you showed up and saved the day!" he explained with a nervous chuckle.

Ilia's eye's narrowed and her brow became furrowed. "Why were you marching up the mountain in the first place?" she questioned.

"Well… our orders were to make contact with Jacobstown," Ariston answered.

"What kind of contact?" Ilia interrogated

"Preferably friendly. However if the settlers were hostile, we were given permission to return fire."

"I see… Well so long as you don't cause trouble, you won't _have_ to fire at us."

"Well that's good to hear, we'll be setting up camp just up the road, so if you ever want to talk, feel free to give me a visit," Ariston said, waving goodbye as he led his troops back towards the slope.

"What was that all about?" Marcus asked as he approached the young fanaus.

Ilia turned her head to face him before giving him a response. "There were some NCR troopers who were fighting off some cazadores. I was able to help them fend them off."

"Really? If that's the case, then that means they might not be as aggressive towards us in the future. Were you harmed in any way?" Marcus asked.

"Nothing but a few scratches," Ilia said as she looked up at Marcus.

He smiled down at her. "I'm glad to hear that. I need to ask you a favor."

"And what type of favor would that be?" Ilia asked as she raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"A reconnaissance mission. There's a ranger station nestled in this very mountain which acts as a forward operating base for this region of the Mojave. I think that might be the source of our human troubles," Marcus explained.

"And you want me to do it?" Ilia asked.

"Yes, you'll need to keep to the shadows and if you can, retrieve any mission data at the base. Any questions?"

Ilia rubbed her chin in thought. "Why me?"

Marcus chuckled as he started to answer. "I need you because you seem to be work well in the shadows."

"Ok, I'll take it, but only if I get paid, how much are you willing to shill out for this?" Ilia asked, trying out her haggling skills.

"Two hundred and fifty caps is all I can spare, but you'll only get it once you've finished your job," Marcus said, crossing his arms. "You should make haste, the quicker you get this done, the less risk there is."

"I think I'll wait for the cover of night to infiltrate Ranger Station Foxtrot, anyways it work better in the dark," Ilia said with smile on her face. She walked back to the lodge to wait with Blake until nightfall.

"You're going out again?" Blake asked, like a mother asking her teenage daughter.

Ilia sighed. "Yes. I'll be back in an hour or two, you don't need to worry," Ilia lied as she walked out the door.

"Please don't get yourself hurt," Blake pleaded as her companion walked out the door. Ilia grabbed her weapon and a few stealth boys then headed out, cutting through the treeline towards the ranger base. It only took fifteen minutes for her to arrive within eyesight of the encampment. She saw ten heavily armed rangers, touting either long, heavy rifles or some type of carbine, along with large revolvers holstered at their hips.

'Where is the command tent?' Ilia thought to herself as she scanned around the base. "Found it!" Ilia whispered to herself as she slid down the slope, changing her skin tone to blend in with the dark scenery around her. She easily slipped around the guards and around the tents with ease. Once the command tent was within sight, she hastily dashed into it, looking for something that resembled information.

" _There it is!"_ Ilia approached the table in the middle of the command tent. There was a letter with a red wax seal stamped on it. The young fanaus grabbed it and stashed it away in a pocket. She ran off, out of the command tent, only to be given a hard punch strait to the gut. The blow knocked the wind out of her as she staggered back.

"You think you can just steal from the rangers?" a man with a deep, raspy voice asked as he gripped Ilia tightly by the neck. "Well wonder no longer! Now die!" The ranger took out his combat knife, aiming the tip of the blade at Ilia's neck. As he plunged it towards her jugular, that very blade was blocked by another.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Another ranger yelled at the one holding Ilia hostage.

"I'm taking care of this intruder. She tried to steal the battle plans right from under our noses."

"I can see that. Now what do you intend to do with that girl?" The second ranger asked as his free hand slowly moved to his own waist.

"Why kill her of course! What reason could there possibly be to let her live?!" The first ranger shouted in with an insane inflection.

"That's unnecessary. The troops are already aware of what must be done, so there's no point. Regardless of their readiness, we will win in the battle to come. In fact I would prefer if they were prepared, because that way I can have a fulfilling fight to the doctor."

" _He's after doctor Henry?!"_ Ilia slipped from the first ranger's grasp and fleeing out of the tent with the battle plans in hand. As she fled, she heard three gunshots from the command tent. Ilia did not look back as she was fleeing from the ranger station. She cut a straight path towards Jacobstown through the thick forest that coated the mountain tops. As the settlement came into view, Ilia ran faster, getting closer and closer to Marcus.

"Ilia! Did you get what we need?"

"Yea… here," Ilia gave Marcus the battle plans. He opened it, scanning the contents then looked back at Ilia.

"Three days… we have three days until they attack…"

"You're kidding… only three days. We need to fortify Jacobstown! We need to prepare!" Ilia shouted franticly.

"Calm down! Go get some rest, you've earned it." Ilia walked back to the lodge with the heavy weight of the information weighing down her every step. As she opened the doors to the lodge, a single radio was left on in the lobby. Ilia walked to Blake's room as a certain song played.

" _Yes I've got heartaches by the number_

 _A love that I can't win._

 _But the day that I stop counting_

 _That's the day my world will end."_

X

AN: I'm glad to finally be done with this chapter, it took me quite a while to write, rewriting the second half of the chapter. Again, the chapters will be shorter in order for them to have more quality than quantity. Lastly, HOLY MOTHER OF BALLS, that second episode of RWBY volume 6, whew lad that ending was one hell of a cliffhanger. If it's going where I think it is, then a personal theory I have might actually be the case.


	7. From the Shadow of the Valley

Adam Taurus

Adam's head shot up from the pillow it was resting on as his a million thoughts raced through his mind. " _What happened to Brutus? Where am I? Did I win the battle?"_ A large, mountain of a man towered over Adam, his body casting a large, all-encompassing shadow onto the faunus.

To the side of him stood a familiar figure. Vulpes Inculta. "Here he is, Legate Lanius. I will wait outside, please don't be rough with him. He's still healing after all."

A low, brutish voice addressed Adam. "Trainee Taurus, it is a pleasure to meet you. I've heard of your feet at the battle a few days ago. I am here to recruit you for the frontlines. We need someone with your battle prowess to inspire our troops. You will be allowed to bring one fellow trainee with you. I'll be waiting for your reply outside the barracks."

"Why?" Adam questioned with a weak voice.

"For your favor. Should there ever be a schism within the ranks, I'll need you and everyone else I can get to keep the Legion together. You may not have name recognition, but you are a physical embodiment of our banner. A bull turned to man, a more humane minotaur. When the Caesar eventually passes, we need the Legion to stay strong, especially if we are unable to capture the dam. With my training and assistance, you will rise in the ranks and in providence."

" _So he intends to use me as a pawn, but he speaks with conviction. I'll stay under his tutelage… for now."_ Adam nodded his head. "I'll give you my answer later today."

"Good. Now rest," Lanius ordered as he walked out of the tent.

Adam slowly closed his eyes, resting his now eased mind. As his thoughts drifted off into a sea of dreams, a brief image began to form. An uncontrollable fire raged through a large forest as faunus and humans alike ran from the encroaching inferno. Before Adam could get closer to see more, the image dissipated into sand as another image began to form. This one showed a single man surrounded by five grimm. The grimm pounced, ripping the man limb from limb. " _What does this all mean? Why am I seeing these things?"_ Then, a final image began to form from the remnants of the previous two to show a the White Fang throne room that was caked in blood. The blood began to collect in front of the throne as if there was a magnet pulling every drop of blood towards it. As Adam continued to watch as the blood took the shape of a woman with horns coming from her head.

"Mom?" Adam asked, taking a few steps forward with his arm outstretched. Then the figure's midsection distorted to the side, as if someone had taken a club to her side. The blood figure exploded, splattering itself all around the room.

"No!" Adam shouted as he was brought back to reality, pulling him out of the dream.

"Adam?" a young, familiar voice asked as he opened his eyes to see Brutus crouched at his bedside.

"What." Adam frowned. "When did you get here?"

"I just arrived, you were having a nightmare. You were thrashing around in your sleep so I decided to stay by your side until you awoke." Brutus gave Adam a hot bowl of soup.

Adam drank the soup in silence as Brutus sat there watching with a relieved look on his face. "You need to pack your things, you and I are getting out of here."

"Really? But how? You know that if we try to esc-"

"We aren't breaking out. I was given an invitation from Legate Lanius. He said I could bring one other trainee with me, so I chose you."

Brutus fell to his knees as tears of joy streamed from his eyes. "Thank you so much Adam! There's no way I could ever repay you!"

"Rise. You are with me now, show some self-respect," Adam commanded as Brutus got to his feet. "Now gather your belongings and meet me by the barracks." Brutus nodded, then ran out of the tent with excitement in his step. Adam grabbed his uniform and walked slowly out of the tent only to be greeted by Vulpes.

The head of the frumentarii reached out an open hand. Adam hesitantly shook it, looking into the masked man's goggles. "What do you want, Vulpes?" the man reminded Adam of the Albain brothers from Menagerie. They were sly and suspicious to the bone, and most of all they were not to be trusted. " _It looks like even humans have people of this stature"_ Vulpes draped his arm over Adam's shoulders as he began to talk to him.

"Adam, be wary of Lanius. He intends to use you for his own gains."

"And you don't?"

Vulpes chuckled. "Oh, I intend to do the same, but in a far less destructive manor. The Legate intends on training you himself. He insists that what you need is more strength and power, while I think you simply need a more appropriate position. The outcome will be the same, but how you get there will be different."

"And what position would that be? What could you offer me that the Legate cannot? I will still be second in command of the man who I will study under. Not to mention that Lanius was the first to approach me, not you."

"All valid points, but there's one thing you forget, I was the one in the Caesar's throne room when you were presented. While both Lanius and I have direct contact to Caesar, _I_ am have been there longer than Lanius and as such curry more favor with our leader. _That_ is why you should join my faction. Once you do, your true potential will be unleashed. And once you do, you will be unstoppable. Think of it Adam, unstoppable, unrivaled power," Vulpes whispered into his ear.

"I'll think about it." Adam walked away from Vulpes. Legionaries moved all throughout the camp, moving supplies and munitions from place to place. " _Who should I side with? Lanius could provide more room for my combat abilities, while Vulpes could get me closer to their leader."_ Adam meandered around Dry Wells for twenty minutes until he came to a conclusion. " _Lanius will be my answer."_ Adam moved towards the barracks, Lanius noticing his approach.

"So what is your answer, Adam Taurus?"

"Brutus and I will be joining you."

"This welp is who you wish to bring? Your choice I suppose," Lanius quipped as he led to two of them to the fort. They climbed aboard a small raft as a legionary with an ore began to roe them upriver. "I'm glad you chose to follow in my shadow. Did that scheming Vulpes give you a proposition?"

"He did."

"I thought as much, which is why I approached you before he did. What lies did that conniving serpent plant in your mind? That he holds more favor with the Caesar than me? That he could help you to grow? What lies! Never believe a word from that fox's mouth, understand? He will do nothing but fill your head with lies to preoccupy your mind while he schemes to stab you in the back."

"How do you know this?" Adam questioned.

"Personal experience. From now until your death, you are my apprentice, my pupil, my protege. Now I have a question for you, where are you from? I've seen many profligates with genetic mutations from radiation, but none like yours."

"Do you view me as a human?" Adam asked in retort.

"No. You are something greater. Then number of legionaries that fell by your hand in a single battle makes you second to only me."

"I am from another world. A world in which my people have been oppressed and walked on simply because we are superior to them. They oppressed us because they feared us. Once I return to my world, I will kill every last human," Adam hissed.

"Then let me help you. Under me you will learn how use that burning hatred as a powerful and refined weapon against those you must kill. As for the welp, he will also be under my purview. Since he is still young, I can mold his body and mind to be an unstoppable machine of war."

"Vulpes and Caesar intended to break you down then build you up. _My_ intention is to remold you into a truly formidable force of power. I've gathered your original weapon for you to use in the field, but in training you will be using this," Lanius said as he handed Adam a sword similar to Wilt and Blush. He unsheathed is to see a well crafted metal blade. "In the old world, that type of weapon was called a katana. It was used by honorable warriors from the west. That will be your training blade. Take care of it as if it were your own."

Adam looked up at the Legate. "Thanks…" Adam said. The irony was not lost on him. The man who lived to subjugate all humans was now being trained by one.

The raft rounded a corner to reveal a heavily fortified base flying the Legion flag.

"Welcome to our forward operating base, Adam. I'm sure you will find your living conditions better than at Dry Wells. Make yourself at home. Once you've finished moving in, meet me in the sparring grounds," Lanius said as he walked off the raft onto the dock as it arrived at the port.

Adam and Brutus followed suit, grabbing their things and moved in to their new home.

"So what do you think?" Adam asked his younger companion.

"It's… amazing! Thank you so much for this Adam!" Brutus thanked as he tightly hugged Adam. The young Faunus man was taken aback by the gesture. " _The boy is starting to take a liking to me, a human boy no less. Considering what he's gone through in life, this must be like living as a Schnee for him."_ Adam set his things down near his bed as he hugged the boy back. "You're home, Brutus. Together we will train, not only to survive, but to thrive. Now let's go, our training starts today." Adam led Brutus out of the housing and towards the sparring grounds.

As Adam reached the grounds, he saw Lanius standing with his back to them with an enormous sword in hand. He turn to face Adam and Brutus, pointing his bumper-sword at the faunus. "Adam, grab your training sword and meet me in the pit."

Adam grabbed the katana and jumped into the pit. The aforementioned pit was circular in shape and was filled with sand along with five pillars. One pillar was in the direct center of the pit, with the other four facing each of the cardinal directions. Lanius was near the northern pillar while Adam was near the southern pillar. A loud war-horn was sounded as Lanius rushed Adam's position.

"The first lesson of battle is to have your full 360 degrees covered!" Lanius shouted as he charged at Adam from outside the pillars, flanking him from the left side. Adam raised his sword to block the inevitable blow, only for him to receive a cut on his right side. " _What?! How did he reach my right side?!"_ Adam backed up, sending a horizontal slash at Lanius, only for it to miss entirely.

"Don't send an attack if you don't know where the target is!" Lanius yelled as he slammed the flat side of his sword into Adam's chest, sending him flying backwards towards the southern pillar. He felt a sharp twinge of pain as his back slammed into the giant stone pillar. The Legate slowly approached Adam. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings if you ever want to be victorious. You must know which battles to fight and which battles not to fight," Lanius advised as he reached his hand down to Adam. He took it, rising from his pained position as he grunted and huffed. "That'll be enough for now, go relax for the rest of the day, and read this," Lanius said as he threw a book to Adam.

"The Art of War? How will this help me?" Adam questioned as he flipped through the pages of the book.

Lanius gave a hearty chuckle. "Just read it, it'll serve you well."

Adam nodded and walked to his barracks. When he entered his room he noticed a new addition, a restored radio sitting on his nightstand. He walked over and turned it on, an interesting song began to play as Adam laid down in his bed.

" _From this wasteland they say you are going,_

 _We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile._

 _For they say you are taking the sunshine,_

 _That has brightened our road for a while."_

AN: Another chapter finished. This one was pretty fast with its making and editing. The-lost-memories6: I hope after reading this chapter who Adam will be paired up with in this part of the story. I won't spoil anything but I haven't deviated much from what I intended to do.


	8. Rising to the Occasion

Cinder Fall

Cinder woke up to the sound of Six getting out of bed. She heard him mumble something under his breath before changing and going into the main room of the Sink. She decided to stay in bed a while longer. As she did so, Cinder could hear the sound of a door opening and shutting shortly after.

Cinder's mind drifted off, settling on an image of three people gathered around a campfire. The first was a male who towered above the other two, the second was a man who wore a his hair in a braided pattern, the last was a man whose skin was wrapped completely in bandages. Cinder walked closer to the three men, asking them all a question.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"We are the past..." the bandaged man said.

"...the present..." the tall man said.

"...and the future," the braided man said. Each of them staring directly into her eyes, then motioned her towards the fire. As she walked closer to the raging flame, Cinder could see a man fighting off a horde of aggressors.

"And who is that?" Cinder asked as she pointed at the fire.

The three men turned once again to face her before they gave their answer.

"He is a monster of ignorance," the braided man explained.

"He is a dishonorable traitor," the tall man said with an angry tone.

"He is the one who forgot," the bandaged man elaborated.

"He was once one of us," all three of them said in unison. "But he follows his own path now, his own destiny." Cinder took a few steps back from the fire as it continued to grow and grow, eventually engulfing the three men into the raging inferno. She watched as they showed no sign of pain or anguish. The young pyromancer tried to control the fire, but it only grew larger. Then the voice of Salem entered her mind. "Leave them, Cinder. You have more important things to do," Salem warned.

"Get away from me!" Cinder shouted as the apparition vanished, only for the fire to consume her.

"Cinder!" Six shouted as he sat by the bed.

"Six?" Cinder asked in a delirious tone.

"Are you alright? I heard you screaming, so I came as fast as I could. You were having some sort of nightmare, I think," Six said as he gently placed his hand over her forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever, so that's reassuring. What was happening in your dream?"

Cinder watched Six's face as she began to explain what she saw. The Courier's facial expressions started to give off a feeling of concern. "Six, do you know these people?" Cinder asked.

"I know two, one through rumors, the other in person. The tall one is called Legate Lanius, and he's a big player in Caesar's Legion. He's the one in charge of the Legion garrison at Hoover Dam," Six explained.

"So he's dangerous?" Cinder asked.

Six nodded his head. " _Very_ dangerous."

"And what about the other man?" Cinder asked.

"The bandaged man, he goes by two names, Joshua Graham, or as he was known in the Legion, the Malpais Legate. He was Caesar's legate before Lanius. However, during the first battle for Hoover Dam, he fell into an NCR trap, halving the Legion forces and angering Caesar. For his punishment he was covered in pitch, set on fire, and thrown down the Grand Canyon.

"Did he survive?" Cinder asked.

"Officially, no. In reality? Yes. Currently he's hiding out with some tribals in the Zion Valley."

"So where were you going earlier this morning?" Cinder questioned as a smile formed on the Courier's face.

"To get this," Six said as he put a prosthetic arm on the bed. It looked more advanced than Atlas technology. "It has a few built-in weapons, including a flamethrower, serrated claws, and a semi-automatic firearm," Cinder looked up at Six in disbelief.

"Really? You did all of this… for me?" Cinder asked as she picked up the prosthetic to examine it closer.

"Yes. I felt responsible for what happened to you, so consider this an apology," the Courier said with a nervous chuckle.

Cinder smiled, it had been a long time since someone had given her a gift. "Well consider your apology accepted," she said as she put on the arm.

"It feels a bit heavier than my other arm," the pyromancer said as she raised the arm, flexing the fingers to test out the reaction time. "How do I access the weaponry?" Cinder asked.

"All you need to do is think of it, and it should deploy on its own. Any more questions?" Six inquired.

Cinder shook her head. "Nothing comes to mind."

"Lets go to the balcony again, I want to show you something," Six said, leading Cinder to it.

They arrived on the platform, a large expanse of advanced technology littered the landscape. "Where are we?" Cinder asked.

"Big Mountain research center. This place was the very peak of Old World technological advancement."

"What purpose does it serve now?"

"To research things that would be for the betterment of this world, technology, medicine, and weaponry."

"I understand the first two, but why weaponry?" Cinder asked.

"To protect the world I wish to build. There will undoubtedly be those who wish for its destruction, so to protect it I need the most advanced weaponry."

"How do you intend to create this world of yours?"

"By allying myself with a very powerful man, Mr. House."

"What makes him so powerful?" the young pyromancer inquired.

Six laughed. "He's the reason New Vegas proper isn't a pile of city ruins. Apparently he's lived for more than two hundred years. The thing is, no one's ever seen him in person."

"Then how does he rule if he has no physical presence?"

"His army of robots who guard the strip. I also know where to find him, the Lucky 38. However no one has been in there," Six explained.

"Is there any way to get inside?"

"I did have a way in; I was going to deliver something called The Platinum Chip, however a man by the name of Benny shot me in the head and took it."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. The Tops casino. But the problem is the checkpoint, we still don't have the caps to get through."

"Then we'll do some odd jobs and earn the caps."

"Yea, that's what we'll do, and I know just the person to talk to. He's a bit… interesting, but he pays well, just make sure to take off your hat when you talk to him," Six advised.

"Alright, when do we depart?" Cinder asked.

Six pulled out the Transportalponder, calibrating it for a specific location. "Now," Six said as he grabbed Cinder's hand and activated the device.

The next thing she knew, Cinder was back at the Gun Runners booth. There, ED-E was nervously flying around in circles. Once his sensors picked up on his two human friends, the eyebot rushed straight towards them.

"ED-E! You're ok!" Six said with relief as he hugged the orb of metal. "Alright, let's get going," Six said, leading Cinder and ED-E into Freeside. As they walked through the broken city streets, Cinder took note of quality of life. It was similar to that of the Mistral slums, but worse.

"Where are we going, Six?" the young pyromancer asked.

"To The King," he answered.

"This place doesn't look much like a kingdom," Cinder retorted.

"It's not, but The King cares about this place and its inhabitants. But he can't do much because the NCR is breathing down The King's neck with all the bureaucracy."

"So he stuck between a rock and a hard place?" Cinder asked.

"Exactly. So he relies on people like me who aren't directly associated with his gang to get shit done."

"So we're the mercenaries in this situation?"

Six nodded his head. "Yup. We get paid a pretty penny for it too. Just don't get involved with the NCR."

"Why is that?"

"Because they're bad news around here." Six stopped in front of a building that had a large neon sign that read 'School of Impersonation'. "Here we are," Six said as he led them into the building.

A man in a leather jacket and his hair styled in a certain way approached the three of them.

"What are _you_ doing around here?" the man said angrily.

"Just want to talk to The King, Pacer. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Six retorted, slightly leaning in towards Pacer.

"Of course not, who's the gal?" Pacer asked, undressing her with his eyes.

"A very special friend of mine," Six said as Cinder wrapped her arm around The Courier's waist.

"I'm already spoken for," Cinder said as she walked up the stairs with Six, ED-E following close behind.

"What's his problem?" Cinder ask as they climbed the second flight of stairs.

"He's The King's right hand man, and he thinks I'm going to replace him," Six answered with a laugh.

"Are you?" Cinder asked.

"No. I'm just here for the cash and to help some people on the way," Six said as they reached The King's room. "Remember, hats off," Six said, reminding Cinder.

"Ah, Six! It's been awhile, how have you been?" The King asked, getting up from his chair to give Six a hug.

"I've been doing good. How about yourself?" Six questioned.

"I'm doing well, but I can't say the same for Rex. He's been acting up, and I don't know why. Would you do me a favor and take him over to Julie Farkas for a check-up?" The King asked.

"Sure thing, anything else you want me to do?"

"No, that'll be all," The King said, waving them goodbye. "And Six,"

"Yes?"

"It's good to see you found yourself a woman. Make sure to keep her safe," The King advised.

"I will," Six said with a chuckle as the group of now four walked out of the building.

"So where can we find this woman called, Julie Farkas?" Cinder asked.

"In the Old Mormon Fort. Remember those doctors who saved you when I first met you?" Six asked.

Cinder nodded her head. "They're called The Followers of the Apocalypse, right?"

"Yes, well this is their main HQ in the Mojave. And Julie Farkas is the head of the Mojave branch," Six said as Cinder, ED-E, and Rex walked into the Old Mormon Fort.

"Courier?" A female voice asked as a woman with a mohawk approached them.

"Hey Julie, can you take a look at Rex?" Six asked.

"Sure, I should be done in an hour or two." Julie led Rex over to one of the tents while Cinder and Six sat down in some chairs. As they waited, Cinder watched the other doctors tend to other patients. It was fascinating how precise they were with their movement and application of medicines.

"Courier," Cinder asked. "Would you be willing to teach me some medical skills?"

Six rubbed his chin in thought before giving a reply. "If you are up for the challenge, that is," Six said as the tent doors opened as Julie and Rex walked out.

"I'm sorry, Six. I couldn't find the cause, but I know someone who could. His name is Doctor Henry and he's living up in Jacobstown."

"You mean the Jacobstown that's all the way up in the mountains?" Six asked nervously.

"That's the one. Good luck, Six. Be careful, I've heard there are some swarms of cazadores around there," Julie warned.

"Alright, we'll be on our way now," Six said, waving Julie goodbye. "God fucking damnit! cazadores! Why is it always fucking cazadores?!" Six mumbled under his breath.

"Six, are you ok? You're looking kinda stressed out," Cinder asked.

"No. We're going to have to go through cazador territory. If we stick to the roads we should be able to avoid most of them," Six explained as they walked out of the fort. "I have a good location for us to set up camp," Six said as the sun began to dip under the horizon. The four of them moved north towards the northern mountains.

"Here is a good spot," Six said as he went to go gather some kindling. "Rex, ED-E stay here with Cinder," Six ordered. Rex sat down next to Cinder as she scratched behind his ear. ED-E circled above Cinder's head with a jolly tune playing over his speakers.

After a few minutes, Six arrived with a large pile of sticks and stones in his hands. Cinder watched as The Courier set up a campfire. "Hey Cinder, try using your flamethrower to light the fire."

"Alright," Cinder said, summoning the flamethrower. A short nozzle emerged from the palm.

"Now shoot a small charge at the kindling," Six advised. Cinder focused, firing a thick stream of fire, engulfing the campfire and the area around it, setting one of the sleeping bags on fire.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get better with practice," Six reassured. "At least now we have a fire," Six said with a laugh. "I'll start cooking dinner, you can rest up," Six said as he pulled out a pan and a brahmin steak. Cinder could smell the red meat cooking as she fell asleep, only to be awoken by Rex as he rose from the ground to try and steal the meat.

"You're getting a bit sleepy on me, Cinder," Six laughed as he cut up the steak three ways. He handed one of the big chunks to Cinder, the smaller one to Rex, and the remaining large one to himself.

"So Courier, what exactly should I expect besides cazadors up in the mountains?" Cinder asked before taking a bite out of her steak.

"Some big horner's, giant prain maintices, and maybe some crazed lunatics, but aside from that, nothing out of the ordinary," Six replied.

"I see, who inhabits Jacobstown?" the pyromancer asked.

"Mainly super mutants and nightkin. They aren't _that_ hostile, so long as you don't look into the nightkin's eyes," Six explained as he took another bite out of his steak.

"Ok, so don't stare at them, anything else I should keep in mind?" Cinder asked.

"Yea, be polite. If you can do those two things, you're golden."

Cinder nodded, "Understood. Six, there's something that's been on my mind."

"What is it?" the courier asked as he finished his steak.

"I've been thinking about if I even _want_ to go back to my world," Cinder said, staring into a cup of water.

"And?" Six asked, leaning in towards the female pyromancer.

"I want you to come with me," Cinder said with absolution. "Ever since we met, you've been looking after me, be it to your benefit or not. You're one of the few people who I can trust, and there's possibility that when I arrive back on Remnant I'll have everybody gunning for me."

"And you'll need me there to back you up?" Six asked, receiving a nod from Cinder. "Then I'll be with you until the end," The Courier said, extending a hand to Cinder. She shook it, a smile growing on her face as she looked into The Courier's chestnut brown eyes. " _His eyes, they're so… warm. I hope you never lose that look of warmth."_

"Alright, so now it's official. You should get some sleep. I'll take first watch," Six said as he took out his grenade launcher and combat knife.

As Cinder got into the remaining sleeping bag, an uneasy feeling fell over her. Her mind drifted off into sleep as a familiar scene appeared in front of her. A bright, Mistral market formed, and a young girl along with her mother were walking through the market. "Mommy! Mommy! Where are we going today?" the young girl asked with a gleeful smile.

"Well Cinder, we're going to the food market today," the motherly figure replied with a smile.

"Yay! Food time! Can we get a tart?" the young Cinder asked her mother.

"Why of course! Now let's go get some sweets, honey." the image began to melt away and Cinder began to feel a pit of despair growing in her stomach as she knew what was to follow. Another image began to emerge, one of a small house in the woods in the dead of night. A scream could be heard from the house as Cinder's skin crawled. The image began to change from an outside perspective to an inside one. In her parents bedroom a young Cinder was crouched by the bleeding side of her mother and father. The window of their room was broken, shards of glass sprawled out on the inside of the room.

"Aunty! Why did you hurt mommy?!" Cinder screamed as a stream of tears flowed from her eyes.

"You would never understand you petulant child! Now come with me!" Cinder's wretched aunt howled at the young pyromancer. Cinder's aunt inched closer to her as the aunt's hand reached out towards her.

"No! Get away from me!" Cinder shouted as the shards of glass near the window began to rise.

"Now listen to me you little brat! You. Are. Coming. With. Me," Cinder's aunt demanded.

"No! You hurt mommy!" Cinder yelled as the shards of glass were flung at Cinder's aunt. Before the shards come into contact with her face, the image dissipated as she felt someone deperateley shaking her. She opened her eyes to see a concerned Six as he gave a sigh of relief.

"You were thrashing around quite violently in your sleep, are you alright?"

Cinder didn't know what to say. She felt safe when she went to sleep but for some reason she dreamt of that specific day. It perplexed her to no end. "I… think so…"

"Ok, we should get going if we want to make it to Jacobstown before sundown," Six explained as he helped Cinder up.

"Six, I want to ask you something."

"Yea? What is it?" Six asked, calling ED-E to his side as Rex joined Cinder.

"What's with all of those scars on your back?" Cinder noticed Six tense up after hearing the question. " _Did I asked him too early?"_ Six slowly turned around to face the young pyromancer.

"I'm… not comfortable with telling you that. I'll tell you when I'm ready," Six said with a stern expression painted on his face. "Now let's go."

For the rest of the day, the four of them walked up the mountain in unusual silence. As the sun reached the top of the sky and their journey nearing its end, the sound of many boots coming their way could be heard.

"Six? Can you hear that?"

"Yea," Six said as he grabbed his grenade launcher. Five NCR Rangers approached the courier with their weapons holstered. "Courier, we have a warning for you. Be careful around Jacobstown. We're planning on attacking it in a day, and if you're there when we strike, expect us to kill you too," one of the rangers told Six.

"Why are you telling me this?" Six asked.

"Because you've done well by the NCR, and it would be a shame if you got caught in the crossfire. Watch yourself, Courier."

"Thanks… let's go Cinder." the group of four moved past the rangers as they climbed the rest of the slope. After two more hours of walking, they finally arrived at Jacobstown.


	9. The Fall of Jacobstown

Blake Belladonna

Blake awoke to a sight she thought she would never see: Cinder Fall with a rugged looking man, a floating robot and a cyborg dog. Cinder and the man were talking to Doctor Henry about the dog. "Do you happen to have a brain that could replace Rex's?"

The man responded with a nod, materializing a brain for the doctor. "How long until Rex is ready to go?" the man asked.

"About a day. If you don't mind me asking, who is this friend of yours?" Doctor Henry questioned.

"Her name is Cinder," Blake snapped. "And she's killed many people."

The man turned to face Blake with a furrowed brow and crossed arms. "I'm aware of that young lady. The name's Courier Six by the way," Six replied with a stern tone.

"Well, Courier, watch your back," Blake quipped back. Just as she said that, Ilia entered the room.

"Blake, is everything ok?" Ilia asked with concern.

"No, its not. The cause of the disaster at the vital festival and the downfall of Haven is standing right there," Blake answered, pointing at Cinder. "You put a plan in motion without thinking of all those that could die from its implementation. You and those who follow you killed innocent people without a second thought. You're pure evil, Cinder Fall."

"You don't know that! All you know is what she did at this vital festival, nothing else. You don't know her past, you don't know why she did what she did, you only know that she did it," Six countered.

"How could you be so blind?!" Blake roared at the Courier.

"Because I trust her!" Six bellowed back, true anger and fury backing his proclamation.

Blake was taken aback by the stubborn claim. "How can you trust her?" Blake questioned.

"Because we've been through many things together. I healed her, I protected her, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let her die under my guard. You don't agree with me? I'm fine with that, but if you come after us with the intent of harming either of us, then start writing your will."

"Blake, be careful what you say," Ilia said with a nervous gulp.

"I'd take your friend's advice if I were you, Blake," Six said, his hand hovering over his grenade launcher.

"Fine. I'll consider changing my mind on Cinder, but I need to see change before that."

"Fair enough, now let's go, Cinder," Six said as his eyebot and Cinder followed him out of the lodge.

"Doctor Henry, who was that?" Ilia asked.

"That was Courier Six. From what I've heard over the radio, he's the courier who was shot in the head near Goodsprings. Ilia, I want you, Blake, and Lily to get out of here. Marcus told me about the information you gathered at the Ranger station. Its me they're after, not you, not Blake, and not Lily. I want you to have this. Down the mountain there's a bunker with some equipment that would be of great use to you. But to use it, both of you will need some special training. I could give both of you the training right now."

"How is his supposed to help us with the equipment?" Blake asked after the training.

"You'll see, all in due time. But for now, you two need to prepare for the battle that's to come," Doctor Henry said with a grave tone. Blake and Ilia nodded as they walked off from the lodge, towards Lily, only to hear the sounds of gunshots near the entrance of the settlements.

"A preemptive attack?!" Blake thought as waves of NCR troopers charged Jacobstown with NCR Veteran Rangers acting as the tactical leaders of the operation. The forces started to flank the settlement.

"Everyone to the lodge!" Marcus ordered as ten nightkin covered the retreat towards the Jacobstown lodge as a hailstorm of bullets flew towards the mutants, downing many of them as they flee. Ilia and Blake led Lily towards the lodge as they saw Courier Six and Cinder assisting with evacuation efforts.

"Could she change?" Blake questioned as she saw Cinder leading a few injured nightkin to safety as Courier Six supplied suppressive fire. She watched as he took aim with his grenade launcher and fired it into a crowd of NCR troopers, blowing off limbs in the process. Blake rushed into the safety of the lodge, as Ilia covered the door for the evacuees. "Marcus, where do we go?" Blake asked.

"There's a rear exit of the lodge that leads outside of the settlement, we can escape from there, but we need to thin the NCR's numbers. I'll stay back with the nightkin to set up traps," Marcus explained.

"And I need to stay to finish the operation on Rex," Doctor Henry proclaimed as he went back into his operating room.

"Cinder, I want you to evacuate, I'll meet you at the base of the mountain. I'll stay here with the doctor until the operation is finished," Six said as he loaded his grenade launcher and unsheathed Chance's Knife as the troops continued their advance towards the lodge.

Ilia and Blake took out their weapons, ready to fight. The front doors blew open as a sea of bullets sprayed into the super mutants and nightkin, downing five of them. Six fired a grenade at the door frame, the falling debris trapping a few troopers. However more soldiers replaced them as the incoming fire did not cease. A line of troopers with beyonetted service rifles charged The Courier, only for him to give them multiple swift stabs to the neck and upper abdomen. He countered an incoming bayonet stab with Chance's Knife, then swiping the trooper off of his feet. Six took the rifle and stabbed it in soldier's gut.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" Six ordered as Ilia and Blake followed Lily and Marcus to the back of the lodge as The Courier continued to hold off the advancing forces. They moved through the lodge, finally emerging from the rear entrance, only to be cornered by Ariston and his group.

"Ilia? What's going on? Why are you with the muties?" he asked, moving towards her.

"The NCR, they're attacking Jacobstown! Can't you try and convince them to call off the attack? We haven't done anything wrong," Ilia pressed, the grip on her weapon tightening.

"It was an order," Ariston deflected.

"That doesn't give you justification in what you're doing! You're killing innocent people!" Ilia protested.

Ariston frowned and shook his head. "They're a danger to the surrounding settlements, Ilia. The Nightkin are mentally unstable and need to be taken care of." He aimed his service rifle at Ilia's head. "Please move aside. I'll let you and your friend live, but the super mutants and the nightkin must die," Ariston pleaded.

"I can't do that," Ilia said as she grabbed his service rifle with her weapon, disarming him. However, Ariston did not retaliate, he just stood there.

"Sir, what should we do?!" one soldier asked.

Ariston sighed. "Stand down men, it's not worth it anymore," Ariston ordered as all the NCR troopers lowered their weapons, letting them pass. As they moved by, the sounds of explosions could be heard from the lodge as it started to collapse. A few figures escaped from the wreckage as dust and smoke billowed from it. Only one figure and an animal emerged from the rubble. The distraction gave an opening for another division of NCR soldiers to fire into the group of super mutants, two NCR Ranger's leading the group.

"Sebastian, open fire, spare none of them," the shorter of the two rangers said, as Sebastian shook his head in defiance. 'What do you mean, no?! I said open fire-" was all the ranger said before his companion Sebastian tackled him to the ground. The mute ranger motioned for Ilia and Blake to make their escape.

"Damnit Sebastian what the hell has gotten into you?!" the ranger shouted in frustration and anger. As they restled on the ground, Blake, Ilia, Marcus and Lily made their escape down the mountain slope. As they got halfway down, Ilia remembered what the doctor had given her.

"There's someplace we need to go! It could give us an edge out in the wastes. Doctor Henry gave us training for whatever it is, so it must be really effective!" Ilia said with excitement. "Follow me, I know the way!" Ilia said as she led her three companions to the bunker. When they arrived, there was only a broken down shack door.

"Is this it sweety?" Lily asked. "Let's go in and see what's inside," Ilia suggested as she opened the door to the inner facility. She pulled out the key, but saw no slot to put it in.

"I can't find the keyhole…" Ilia said with disappointment. "There's only a number pad."

Marcus rubbed his chin in thought, coming to an interesting conclusion. "Look to see if there are any numbers on the key."

"Do you really think he would do something like that?" Blake asked.

"It's always possible dearie!" Lily said, giving a smile to the girls.

Ilia turned the key over to see five numbers inscribed on the side of the key. "You're right! The numbers are right here!" Ilia input the numbers into the number pad, the large metal door rising for the newest arrivals. They walked in to find a large Atlas-like aircraft and some full-body armor suits suspended in some sort of force-field. Not to mention the many energy weapons bursting from their weapon crates.

"That's a lot of weapons. And high-tech looking ones at that!" Ilia exclaimed as she opened a crate revealing many plasma pistols, plasma defenders, recharger pistols, and laser pistols. Blake moved over to another crate to reveal gauss rifles, laser rifles, plasma rifles, laser RCWs, recharger rifles, tri beam laser rifles, and multiplas rifles.

"This is enough weaonpronry to arm at least a battalion," Marcus said as he opened a crate to reveal all types of heavy energy weapons.

"Oh, look! All of these cute little acorns!" Lily said as she opened a crate full of plasma grenades, pulse grenades, frag grenades plasma mines, pulse mines, and frag mines.

"Lily, don't touch those!" Marcus yelled as he sprinted towards the crate, slamming it shut. "Blake, Ilia see if you two can get those suits on, I'll start looking through the vertibird for anything useful," Marcus said.

Ilia moved over to a terminal and shutdown the force-fields surrounding the power armor. Blake and Ilia silently looked at each other for a moment before putting on the power armor. Ilia flexed her fingers, observing how advanced the Enclave technology was.

"This is amazing! It's even more impressive than Atlas technology," Blake said as she picked up one of the laser rifles. "Wow, this is as light as a feather!"

"That's one of the abilities of power armor. It enhances the strength of the wearer, eliminating possible weight barriers for the user in regards to weaponry. I advise you all take all the weapons you can carry. Don't forget the ammunition," Marcus advised as he took a gatling laser from the crate. Ilia loaded up with plasma pistol and a plasma defender in their holsters on her side, a plasma rifle, a multiplas rifle, an ammo belt across her chest and a belt of plasma grenades. Finally, Ilia grabbed a plasma caster Blake had a recharger pistol, recharger rifle, laser pistol, and tri-beam laser rifle. She also had an ammo belt and a belt of pulse grenades across her chest. As for her final weapon, she picked up a gatling laser.

"You two look like you're going to take on the NCR all by your lonesome!" Marcus laughed, holding his chest in amusement.

"Good, we'll need it for survival," Blake said as she walked over to viritbird. "What is this thing? It looks like a transport from my world."

"Interesting, you wouldn't happen to know how to fly one of those, would you?" Marcus asked.

"N-"

"I know how to, deerie!" Lily exclaimed as she climbed into the cockpit.

"Well, lets hope we don't crash," Ilia giggled as she climbed aboard along with Blake and Marcus. The ceiling opened up as the vertibird began to rise and the hot Mojave air ran into the bunker, the vertibird flying out of it. For the first time, both Ilia and Blake saw the wasteland from a bird's-eye-view. As the aircraft lifted out of the mountain's side, it flew off towards fiend territory. As they flew through the air, the radio blasted a song from Mr. New Vegas Radio.

"Heartache number three Was when you called me

And said that you was coming back to stay

With hopeful heart I waited for your knock on the door

I waited but you must have lost your way"

AN: I wish all of my American readers a happy Thanksgiving, expect another chapter or two in the coming days, and don't get trampled to death if you go out for Black Friday. :)


	10. Hunting and Survival

Adam Taurus

Adam was resting in his bed, reading Tzun Tzu _Art of War_ when Brutus entered the tent. Sweat dripping down his face, the young boy completely exhausted from his training that morning. "Still reading that book the Legate gave you?" Brutus asked as he wiped himself off with a towel.

"Yes. It's quite interesting. There is a very unique philosophy of war that Tzun Tzu takens on. It certainly is a new way of thinking about warfare. When I return to Remnant, I think I'll incorporate some of these tactics in the White Fang."

"White Fang? What is that?" Brutus asked.

"A group of my people who were tired of being the downtrodden and decided to fight back," Adam answered.

"Do you think I could join?" Brutus inquired.

The question gave Adam pause. " _They would skin him alive. Use him as a living shooting target."_ "I'm afraid they just wouldn't accept you… I'm sorry," Adam said with regret. " _I can't let harm come to him."_

"Adam, I have a mission for you," Lanius said as he stepped into the tent with Adam and Brutus. "Unfortunately a certain Frumentarii by the name of Celectious. He's betrayed the Legion by leaking troop movements to the NCR. Find him and kill him. He was last seen at the Grub and Gulp under the alias Carlson. He has blonde, short hair and a lanky build. He usually wears a farmhand outfit. Eliminate him in any way you see fit, just don't get caught. You should also take these." The Legate handed Adam two curved gladii, a double barrel shotgun, and a pair of binoculars..

"Brutus, come with me," Adam said as he put on the blades and slinged the shotgun over his shoulder. The two of them were given a raft ride across the river and landed close to the aforementioned location. A few minutes later, the settlement came into view. It had a single metal shack, a pen holding some red, two headed cows, and a small market near the broken and cracked road. Adam looked through his binoculars to scan around the Grub and Gulp for Celectious, but there was no sign of the man.

"I can't find him…" Adam said, putting the binoculars away.

"He might be somewhere else, we should ask around," Brutus suggested.

"Good idea," Adam replied as they both slid down the slope. Brutus began to talk to the people at the settlement while Adam took lookout position. After an hour of asking around, Brutus had found his answer.

"So where is he?" Adam asked as his young apprentice rejoined him.

"Just a bit down south at the 188 Trading Post. We'll have to be careful because it's a NCR outpost."

"Then we'll have to act fast and effectively if we want to eliminate our target."

"I see. But we should scout out that location so we know what we're getting into," Brutus insisted.

"Of course. That's a given. Now let's get going. We don't want our target moving away from us again." Adam and Brutus traveled towards the 188 Trading Post to find the treacherous Celectious. They arrived twenty minutes later, scanning the area for a man matching Celectious' description. They also noted the number of people in the settlement, eight plus Celectious, making a total of nine.

"How do you want to play this, Brutus?" Adam asked.

"I think we should kill Celectious at a distance, and if we draw attention, then we rush them and engage in close combat."

"I like it. Now let's get a good position." Adam and Brutus took perch atop a hill nearby as Adam lined up the shot with his weapon. He pulled the trigger, hitting Celectious in the left knee. Adam lined up another shot, hitting his right knee, crippling both his legs, preventing his escape. Adam seathed Wilt and Blush as he rushed towards the settlement. The remaining people aimed at Adam, sending a swarm of bullets in Adam's direction. He dodged them, flanking to the right, going under the bridge, filling Alexander with bullets while cutting the Gun Runner's Guard to pieces. The NCR arms dealer pulled out an assault carbine, aiming it at Adam's head. Before she could pull the trigger, Brutus speared her through the chest, the tip of the spear poking out of her back.

"Brutus! Get back to the position before you're shot!"Adam yelled as he leaped up onto the bridge. A young woman with a mechanical glove lunged towards Adam with a swift punch. " _Just like the blonde,"_ Adam thought with a chuckle as he dodged the incoming blow. His weapons were knocked out of his grasp as the hooded woman disarmed him.

"Who are you?! Why are you trying to kill this man?" the young lady asked.

"I am Adam Taurus, and you will fear me!" Adam shouted as he unsheathed his galdii as he lunged forward for a counter attack. However, his counter attack as interpreted as he was given a powerful blow to the stomach, forcing him to stagger back as he clutched his stomach. "And what's your name, human?" Adam asked with a hiss.

"Veronica, and I'm going to be the one to end your attack," Veronica said, gritting her teeth. Adam took another lunge with his galdii, only for them to be blocked with some skilled hand-to-hand maneuvers. Veronica went for another stomach hit, only for her to be stabbed in the arm, blood seeping out of the fresh wound. Adam swiftly recovered his weapon, going for another stab. Veronica counted it with her power-fist, landing a blow on Adam's left side. The power of the hit send him slamming into the ground. Adam rolled out of the way from another strike, getting back to his feet and slashing at Veronica's legs. She recoiled in pain, falling to the ground. Adam pounced on top of her, holding his galdii like they were the fangs of a viper. Veronica crossed her arms over her neck, sparring her from a lethal blow and only receiving two deep cuts into her shoulder blades. She screamed in pain as Adam took aim at her lungs.

She flipped onto her chest, throwing Adam off of her. He got back to his feet, aiming to finish this fight once and for all. As Veronica was getting up from her prone position, she felt two sharp pains in her back as Adam pushed her back into the ground with his boot. He watched as she writhed in paid for a few minutes before ruthlessly slitting her throat and watching her bleed out in front of him. Adam pulled out the galdii from Veronica's back and slowly walked towards a crawling Celectious.

"If only you could see what I am right now," Adam said to the treacherous legionary.

"Please, spare me! I don't want to be a le-" was all he could say as Adam recovered his sword and dove it into Celectious' throat. Adam watched in silence as his target slowly bled to death on the hot concrete. Brutus joined Adam and the two of them walked to Cottonwood Cove. As the sun began to set, the two of them found a firepit and set up camp for the night. As his mind drifted off, a familiar image of his mother began to form in front of him. An attractive female bull-faunus with light red hair in a french braid. There was a warm smile on her face. "Mother?" Adam asked, walking towards her. But as he got closer, her facial features began to twist and contort into an angry visage. "Why Adam?! Why couldn't you save me?! You ungrateful child!" Ms. Taurus screamed at her now adult son. Adam backed off, fearful of his now irate mother.

A burning house began to form around them, the fire catching on to her cloths, burning her skin. As Adam watched, his fear began to dissipate and transform into hatred. "I tried! You always talked to me as if I meant to hurt you! You never loved me… you only loved the _idea_ of having a child!" Adam shouted in anger, throwing a punch at the image of his mother as tears fell from his eyes. "I trusted you… I loved you… you were my mother… how could you not love me, your own child?" Adam asked between his sobs. Adam was awoken by Brutus violently shaking him.

"Adam! Are you ok?" Brutus asked as the sun shined in Adam's face. He shielded his eyes from the sun with his hands as he rolled out of his sleeping bag.

"Yea, just a bad dream," Adam said with a dismissive tone as he grabbed his weapons. "We need to keep moving. As they moved southward, a bleak, green cloud was cloaked over the remnants of a small town. As they got closer, they could hear the sound of bare feet approaching them. Then, a crowd of feral ghouls swarmed around them. The feral ghouls were wearing NCR fatigues. Adam dispatched five ghouls with a single slash of Blush, cutting the five ghouls in half. Brutus stabbed two more in the throat. The two of them fled the mob as the ghouls continued their pursuit. As they did so, they ran into an NCR patrol. Before they could react, Adam beheaded all three of them with a swipe of his sword, using the momentum of his movement to put more power behind the swing. They kept running towards the town, to escape from the ghouls who had yet to relinquish their prey.

As they turned a corner, a set of laser turrets opened fire on them, forcing them to hide behind cover. "Adam, I don't feel so good…" Brutus said as he keeled over, puking out that morning's breakfast.

"What's wrong?" Adam asked as he led the boy into a church and found a cellar to hide in.

"It's probably radiation poisoning. I should have some herbal blends in by pack, get them for me and I should be fine," Brutus said with calmness not associated with one of his age.

"How come you're so composed? You're only a child," Adam asked with a chuckled as he took out herb blends Brutus referred to.

"My mother and the other slaves always had to carry Legion supplies through treacherous terrain, be it mountains, valleys, and even radiation hotspots. Naturally radiation poisoning was common, and the slave doctors managed to come up with some herbal blends that could alleviate the more serious symptoms of it. As for the composure, that's all thanks to our teacher, Legate Lanius," Brutus explained as he downed the herbal blend with a cough. "Although, the blends were never known to go down easy, you should have some too. There must have been some type of radioactive bomb setup in this town," Brutus advised.

"And it must have been set up by the Legion, if the NCR ghouls are anything to go by," Adam pointed out. Suddenly loud stomping noises from outside the cellar. Adam took hold of Wilt and Blush, heading to the cellar door.

"Adam? You aren't going up there, are you?"

"Well whatever's out there, it's a threat. And it needs to be dealt with _sooner_ rather than _later_. I'm going outside to take care of it, you stay here and heal up," Adam ordered as he slowly crept up the staircase as the footsteps got closer. He braced his hand against the cellar door, readying himself to force it open as strike who, or whatever it was that was making the noises.

" _One. Two. Three!"_ Adam forced open the doors, firing his sword at the beast that was to be his foe. It hit it in the face, only annoying it. It had large, foot long claws, sharp teeth, and two large horns. It stood at about ten feet tall. He aimed and fired at the creature, but it had no effect. He would need to retrieve his sword, but it was right under the reptilian beast. " _I won't be able to reach it with those long claws standing in the way,"_

Adam pulled out his gladii and prepared for a fight. He rushed the creature, avoiding a swipe from those deadly claws by just an inch. Adam rolled out of the way of another incoming slash. He grabbed his sword, readying for a final attack. " _The only unknown here is how much aura I have. It seems on this planet I need to eat food to regain it. And I should have enough to kill this… creature."_ Adam took his stance, calling up his semblance. The red blade began to glow as Adam poured his semblance into the blade. The sky around him turned black as red petals began to fall around him and the beast. It charged Adam, and he took a single swipe cutting the thing's head off. Adam walked over and cut both the hands off as well.

" _These might come in handy in the future,"_ Adam thought as he bagged the three items. He went back into the cellar to check on Brutus. As he did, Adam felt a bit lightheaded as he traveled down the staircase. By the time he reached Brutus, Adam collapsed and blacked-out on the cold concrete of the cellar. The last thing he heard was Brutus shouting his name with concern.


	11. The Sand's Course

Cinder Fall

Cinder waited for Six and Rex to arrive at the base of the mountain with ED-E at her side. She saw an aircraft fly overhead as two figures descended the slope through a light dust cloud.. One was a human, and the other was a dog. A smile grew on Cinder's face as The Courier and Rex got closer. As they approached, a third figure began to reveal itself behind them.

"Six, get out of there!" Cinder yelled as she and ED-E charged forward to assist in the fight to come. The creature behind them had two tendrils, a large, black head and two feet. The Courier turned to face the menencing foe, aiming his grenade launcher at it and firing off a plasma grenade.

"Cinder! Use your fire, all of it!" Six shouted as he fled from the creature. Cinder started creating a fireball in one hand, and activating the flamethrower in her robotic arm. She focused her aim and the intensity of both flames.

"Duck!" Cinder shouted as she shot a thin but powerful flame at the incoming creature. The Courier ducked to avoid the incoming flame. The black beast howled and wailed in pain before it finally died. "What _was_ that?!" Cinder questioned in both terror and annoyance.

"That was a wanamingo. They were thought to have died out, but it looks like nature found a way," Six said with a nervous chuckle.

"Do you think there are any more?" Cinder asked, scanning the slope.

"I wouldn't care to find out, let's get going," Six said as he led Cinder, ED-E and Rex towards the nearby Followers safehouse. The moment they entered the safehouse, both Cinder and Courier Six collapsed onto the ground.

"Well it's certainly been awhile since i've seen this sorry excuse for a mailman," a female in a doctor's coat said as she helped Six and Cinder to a cot.

"Doctor Luria, it's nice to hear your comforting voice, how have things been?" Six asked.

"Could be worse. And whose the lady friend?" Doctor Luria asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A patient turned ally. She can be quite the partner to have in battle," Six chuckled.

"And he has been quite the doctor," Cinder said. Rex slowly walked over to her, receiving a nice scratch behind the ears as a reward. ED-E floated over to Six, giving off some concerned beeps.

Luria calmed the robot. "Don't worry eyebot, your master will be fine. So Courier, I assume your stay will be brief?"

"Yes, just for the rest of the day, then we'll be on our way."

"And where are you four going exactly?"

"New Vegas, and you?"

"The usual route. Now as _your_ doctor I advise both of you to get some sleep." Six nodded as his eyes slowly closed followed by Cinder's. Her mind moved to her past, an image of a ten year old Cinder forming in front of her. There were bags under her eyes, the eyes themselves were drooping and her shoulders were slouched. The young Cinder was wearing a ragged shirt and pants. She was holding a wooden broom, sweeping the room she was in. It was snowing outside as she swept. Three laughing women entered the room, paying the young Cinder no mind.

"Hey… could one of you help me?" Cinder asked the three woman.

All of their faces distorted into ones of disgust. "You expect _us_ to help _you_? You're not even part of the family. The only reason you're kept around is so that mother doesn't have to pay for a maid," the eldest of the three woman said.

"I-I'm sorry…" Cinder said sheepishly as she looked away.

"Look at me when you apologize!" the eldest one shouted at Cinder. "Girls, lets teach this little brat some respect." the two others grabbed Cinder by the arms as the eldest one led them to the back door. She opened it and Cinder was thrown out into the cold snow. Cinder banged on the doors, begging them to let her back in. Her cries for help went unanswered as the snow continued to fall. Tears started to form under her eyes as Cinder walked into the nearby forest. She couldn't tell whether it had been minutes or hours, but she had been walking a long time in the snow cloaked forest. She couldn't feel her feet, hands, and ears. Her movement was starting slow.

" _Is this where I die? Out in the cold, uncaring snow?"_ Just as her hope was starting to wean, a figure draped in all black approached her. Her skin was as pale as the snow, just like her hair. Her eye's sclera were red, and her pupils were black. She picked up Cinder and sheltered her from the cold in her arms.

"Are you alright, young girl?" the woman asked. Cinder nodded, wiping away tears from her eyes. "Why are you crying?" Cinder explained everything to who she now knew as Salem.

Cinder's eyes began to open as the sound of Six waking up did the same for her. She watched silently as Six put on his equipment. "You know, it's rude to stare," Six said to Cinder.

She quickly flipped herself to the other side of her cot. "How did you know I was looking? Your back was facing me."

"Instincts. You live in the Mojave, or any wasteland long enough you tend to develop those type of skills. It's not something that can be taught, it comes naturally. Any other questions?" Six asked.

"Just one more. Are you going to tell me about how you got those scars on your back?" Cinder asked as she put on her armor and holsters.

"Not now. When we get to the Lucky 38. Let's get moving," Six said, calling ED-E to his side as Cinder whistled to Rex. The four of them set off for Freeside with Six taking the lead. "So Cinder, enjoying your new pet?" Six asked with a chuckle.

"Well I can't complain," Cinder responded, giving Rex a pat on the head. The two of them bantered back and forth as they made their way to the east gate of Freeside. They promptly arrived at the Kings' HQ. They moved up to meet The King.

They were greeted warmly by the man himself. "Why Courier, its so good to see you! And Rex ain't looking like a hound dog anymore! You've done so much for me, please allow me to do something for you in return."

"Well now that you mention it, we could use a fake ID for the both of us," Six said.

"Consider it done. Just head over to Mick and Ralph's they'll make them for you. Anything else before you go on your way?" The King asked.

"Nothing that I can think of, thanks for all you've done for us," Six said with a bow. The two of them made their exit.

"Mick and Ralph's? What kind of place is that?" Cinder questioned.

"An all-purpose store."

"Do they have anything good for sale?"

"If you know what to say," Six said as he held the door open for her. They were greeted by the two store owners. "Hey Ralph, The King sent us here to acquire some _incredibly official_ passports. Are they ready for pick up?" Six asked.

"All we need is a picture of each of you," Ralph said, pulling out a camera. The two of them had their pictures taken. "It should only take about five minutes to make the finishing touches. In the meantime you can talk to Mick if you're up for some barterting. Six nodded and walked over to Mick's corner of the room.

"So, you folks need some new equipment?"

"We do. Would you happen to be selling any… upscale items?" Six asked.

"Are you looking to buy?" Mick asked in return.

"Of course we are! Why wou-" Cinder's yelling was stopped by Six giving her a serious look.

"No." Cinder was shocked, why would he say that? They were certainly here to buy better weapons and gear. Then here question was answered as Mick opened up a secret vault hidden within the wall.

"As I always say: an armed society is a polite society. Just tell me what it is you want," Mick said.

"Is that a… katana?" Six asked.

"Indeed it is. Would you like it? It'll only be three thousand caps."

"Sure. Do you have anything smaller for my companion?"

"What are you looking for?" Mick asked.

"A semi-auto and fully automatic weapon would be nice," Six answered.

"I have just the thing. A hunting revolver and a 12.7mm submachine gun. The combined cost would only be two thousand caps."

"I'll take it!" Six said, exchanging the caps for the weapons. "Here you are, your new weapons. Use them well." Six handed Cinder the submachine gun and hunting revolver as he admired his katana. Cinder rolled her eyes as she picked up the passports. They took a long, leisurely walk to the Strip North Gate enjoying each other's company as they held hands. Cinder noticed how tense Six was as they walked.

" _What is it he's nervous about? I've never seen him like this before."_ They arrived at the gate with their passports in hand. One of the many robots approached them.

"Submit to a credit check or show your passports," the robot ordered. Both Cinder and Six showed him the passports. "Right this way," the robot said, leading them to the gate. As they passed through the gates, Six's grip on Cinder's hand started to tighten.

"Six, you're hurting me," Cinder said. The Courier abruptly released his grip.

"I'm sorry about that, it's just… i'm a bit nervous. You see, I was supposed to deliver a certain item of extreme importance, but I was robbed of it."

Cinder nodded her head. "So you're afraid of the consequences?"

"Yea. I don't want to face Mr. House empty handed. You've seen his robots. If he wanted to, he could kill me right now," Six said as his entire body began to shake. Cinder cupped her hands around his, calming The Courier down.

"You'll be fine with me at your side, not to mention ED-E and Rex. You'll be fine," Cinder said with a warm smile. The Courier took a deep breath and walked up to The Lucky 38. A robot similar to the ones at the gate approached Six, welcoming him into the building. Cinder followed him into the building only to be blocked entry by that robot.

"Woa missey, what do you think you're doing? This is private property!" Victor asked.

"I'm the patient of Courier Six, and I need to stay with him _at all times_ ," Cinder answered.

"I see. Even so, you can't enter. I'm sorry little lady, but I can't let you pass," Victor said.

The Courier looked over his shoulder. "Victor, let her through. She's harmless," Six lied as Cinder entered the building. They took the elevator up to the penthouse to meet Mr. House. As they exited the elevator, Six downed a full bottle of sunset sarsaparilla.

"Remember Six, you're not alone. I'll be right behind you," Cinder said reassuringly. Six nodded and walked up to the monitor.

"Hello, Mr. House." The monitor lit up, and the face of Robert House appeared on the screen.

"You must be the courier I've heard so much about. It seems you are not in possession of the platinum chip. Luckily for you, I happen to know who does. He's the same man who tried to kill you." Six's eyebrows began to raise. "His name is Benny, and is currently hiding out in the Tops casino. Kill him or don't. Do what you must to retrieve the platinum chip."

"I will," Six said.

"Now I _must_ ask you, who is that with you? I don't recall hiring two couriers for this job," Mr. House said with a stern tone.

"My name is Cinder Fall, and if you wish to speak with me, you need only say my name," Cinder said, moving to Six's side.

"That's quite the interesting name. Are you a companion of The Courier?" House inquired.

"I'd say I'm his significant other," Cinder said with confidence.

"Is that so?"

Six stiffened his posture as if he were a soldier. "Yes. Now if there's anything else you need to know, I'm ready to answer."

"No. That will be all." Six and his pyromancer companion moved to the elevator. They went to the Presidential Suite to get some rest. As they entered the bedroom, Cinder decided to have a query of hers answered.

"Six, how did you get those scars on your back?" Six sighed after hearing the question. He led Cinder into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Six sat on the bed, taking off his armor and shirt. Cinder sat down next to him, gently tracing the scars with her fingers. She noticed that The Courier did not flinch.

"Alright, so now I will tell you about how I got all of these scars," Six said, looking over his shoulder at Cinder.

AN: I hate to end it on a cliffhanger, but I need to go to bed. As for the events of last chapter in regards to Veronica: I felt that neither Veronica nor Adam would leave the other alive in a situation like that. Veronica saw him try to kill the man and tried to stop him. Adam saw Veronica as a serious threat once he took a blow from her power fist. It was a fight to the death. I don't think I need to say this, but the Mojave is a cold and dangerous place. As such, it should be expected that most, if not all battles are to the death. I'm sorry if that outcome was upsetting to you, but it was how I decided to write my story. The next few chapters might take some time to come out as the semester is coming to a close and I must focus on my school work. Thank you for reading!


	12. Patriot's Cookbook

Blake Belladonna

Blake felt the air brushing up against her as the airship flew over fiend territory. She looked over to find Marcus on the mounted minigun and Ilia sitting beside her, both girls wearing their enclave power armor. All of a sudden, flak shells began to detonate around the vertibird.

"We're taking fire from below! Swing the vertibird around so I can get a good shot at the aggressors!" Marcus ordered to Lily as she began to position the airship. "Blake, Ilia, get your heavy weapons ready, we're going in hot!" Marcus shouted as they turned towards the source of the flak.

The guns were shabby recreations of the originals, but they were still effective. Marcus started to lay down a stream of bullets towards the fiends as they fell, one by one. Ilia and Blake soon followed, raining a heavy cover of plasma and lasers, taking out quite a few fiends.

"That's twenty-five! Good riddance to those evil people!" Ilia cheered as she reloaded her plasma caster. Blake kept silent as she kept her gatling laser trained on the anti-air batteries, trying to overheat them and destroy them.

"One down, three more to go!" Marcus shouted as a flak battery exploded, killing the nearby fiends. "Watch out! Missile, incoming!" He shouted, trying to aim at it. Ilia swiveled the plasma caster to face the deadly projectile, then fired a cluster of plasma at it. The shots landed, preemptively detonating the missile. They continued to lay down suppressive fire onto the hoard of drug-addled raiders.

"Lily, get us out of here!" Blake yelled over to roar of the engines.

"Alright deeries, hold on to something secure!" Lily shouted over the intercom as the doors closed, shielding the passengers from the incoming ballistics. The airship moved to the north, exiting the range of the flak guns.

"That was close," Marcus said, wiping his brow.

"But it was so exhilarating!" Ilia said with excitement.

"Ilia, you need to cool down. It's probably the adrenaline," Blake said as she placed a calming hand on Ilia's shoulder pad. "So Marcus, what now?" Blake asked.

"I was thinking we could meet up with Courier Six. You may not like who he's with, but his skills are nothing to scoff at. It would be advantageous for us to have him as an ally rather than a foe," Marcus explained.

"Do you really think he could become our enemy?" Ilia asked with a bit of hesitation in her voice.

Marcus rubbed his chin in thought. "There have been rumors that the Legion and NCR will clash once again for control of Hoover Dam. I've also heard rumblings of another faction rising, and their leader goes by Mr. House. From what i've heard, he's the de facto leader of the New Vegas Strip and keeps the families from killing each other."

"And how is any of this relevant?" Blake questioned. "Why should we care what happens to these groups?"

"Because Courier Six will have to choose who to ally with. I think it'll be House," Marcus concluded.

"And what makes you think that?" Ilia asked.

"Because I overheard him talking about getting into the strip, which is House's domain. I wouldn't be surprised if House hired him for a job. Not to mention the robot army House has at his disposal. Honestly, I'd choose to ally with House if I could," Marcus said with a sigh as the vertibird started to land at a nearby building.

Ilia read out loud the sign on top of it as they got out of the vertibird. "Monte Carlo Suites, sounds… nice," Ilia said as she eyed the guards near the front of the building.

"We could use this place as a base," Blake whispered so as not to gain the ire of the guards.

Marcus nodded. "They aren't attacking us… yet. We need to strike fast and effectively. Ilia you take the one on the left, Blake take the one on the right. I'll breach the door and mow down anyone inside." Blake and Ilia gave a thumbs up. The three of them slowly walked over to the guards.

"Hey," Ilia said, getting the attention of the guards. "Do you think you share one of those rooms?"

"Like hell I would!" one of guards shouted before he was shot in the chest by Ilia's plasma defender, the other one being down by Blake's laser rifle.

"What the hell is that?!" a voiced yelled from inside the building as three men charged out of the door, only to be confronted by a letal spread of bullets coming from Marcus' minigun. Ilia used the butt of her plasma rifle to break a window in order to cover Marcus, should he need the extra firepower. Two men charged the super mutant with knives, only for him to smash their heads together. A woman slid out from a corner aiming her high caliber revolver at Marcus' head.

"Not another move, mutie or I blow your brains out!" the woman yelled. Unbenounced to her, a certain faunus was aiming for _her_ head. Ilia focused her plasma rifle, looking down the sights at the raider's head. She took a deep breath, aimed and fired. The raider's now deceased body slammed on the floor. As the room was confirmed clear, they moved in, boarding up the windows, setting up a fire, loading supplies into the room, and laying down sleeping bags. As they finished laying out their sleeping bags, Ilia heard some noise coming from the outside. She peaked out of the crack in the window to see a swarm of cazadors loitering outside the building.

"Blake, there are cazadores outside!" Ilia whispered.

"How many?" Blake asked as she reached for her tri-beam laser rifle.

"Looks to be about twenty-eight," Ilia said as she loaded her multiplas rifle and grabbed some plasma grenades.

"What are you two talking about?" Marcus asked.

"There are cazadores outside, about twenty-eight of them," Ilia said in a hushed tone.

Marcus looked outside through the cracks between the wooden boards. "Actually that's thirty," Marcus said as he picked up his light machine gun, loading it with hollow-point rounds.

"Deeries, what you talking about at such an hour?" Lily asked as she grabbed her chainsaw, revving it up a few times.

"We're surrounded by cazadores, Lily," Marcus said as he poked the barrel of the rifle out of the window as the cazadores scuttled around outside.

"Well don't worry, deeries! I'll chop them up for you!" Lily replied.

"We'll back you up," Ilia said with a confident smirk. Lily nodded as Blake and Marcus covered the windows and Ilia covered the door.

"Ready when you are, Lily," Marcus said as he set up the bipod for his light machine gun. Blake took her position at the other window. For a brief moment, everyone was calm. The air felt cold and sterile. Then, Lily slammed the door open, swinging her chainsaw around like a viking berserker high on hallucinogenic mushrooms. With that powerful, fluid motion, Lily took out five cazadores at once. Ilia's multiplas rifle blasted five more of them in the face. Marcus laid down a heavy blanket of firepower into a line of ten cazadores, the armor piercing rounds shredding through the weak carapace. Red rays of Blake's tri-beam laser rifle downed seven more, only three more to go. Those three rushed into the building, only to be cut up by Gambol Shroud.

"Everyone alright?" Marcus asked as the dust bagan to kick up from outside the building.

"Yea, Blake and I are fine, how about you, Lily?" Ilia asked.

"You don't need to worry about me!" Lily replied as she walked into the building. The three of them sighed as they shut the door and started to cook dinner. Lily was working the stove, cooking the meat while Blake and Ilia chopped the vegetables as Marcus stood guard.

" _This is nice, Ilia, Marcus, Lily, and I. Hopefully they will all be able to survive. I wonder how it go like this…"_ Blake thought as she finished up her job.

"Hey Marcus, was the world always like this?" Ilia asked as she took a seat at the table with Lily and Blake.

Marcus sighed, he knew it was only a matter of time before the question was asked. He didn't want to tell them, his fear being that they would lose any hope for humanity. The two girls were in a similar situation to himself and Lily. They were different from normal humans, and as such they were discriminated against and sometimes even hunted down. But he couldn't keep it from them forever.

"No," Marcus answered with a sorrowful tone.

"How was it before this?" Ilia asked with hesitation, afraid of what the answer might be.

"Far better. More than two hundred years ago, the technology of the world had hit its peak and so had the weaponry."

"What type of weaponry?" Blake asked as she began to eat.

"This specific classification of weaponry was called Weapons of Mass Destruction. Bombs capable of decimating cities within seconds, disintegrating people to ash. And those were only the nukes. There were also chemical weapons, sarin gas, mustard gas, chlorine gas, all horrible ways to die. A slow suffocation, your insides swelling up to lethal degrees. Resources were starting to run dry and global tensions were rising. Then, in October of 2077, the United States of America and the People's Republic of China exchanged fire with their entire nuclear arsenal. Not a single country was spared, and do you know how long it took to plunge the entire world into this hellhole?" Marcus asked, only for Ilia and Blake to shake their heads.

"Two. Fucking. Hours. It only took two hours to decimate all of humanity's progress. It took hundreds of thousands of years for us to evolve, then it took us thousands more for us to advance our technology to incredible heights. And it only took humanity two hours to set us back to the stone age," Marcus ranted, almost crushing his utensils in rage.

"I'm so sorry to hear that…" Blake said, her head held low.

"Ilia, Blake, please promise me you'll do all you can to prevent that from happening in your world when you return," Marcus pleaded with tears in his eyes. "It would tear me up inside if you two became the victims to something similar," he said, wiping away his tears.

"You and Lily can come with Blake and I!" Ilia said, trying to turn the conversation into a more upbeat tone.

"You would do that for us? No wonder you two are my granddaughters! You two have turned out to be such sweethearts!" Lily said, reaching across the table to give both girls a warm, motherly hug.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Ilia snuck over to the door, pulling out her plasma defender. She looked through the peephole to see three NCR troopers with their service rifles slung over their shoulders.

"Who is it, Ilia?" Marcus asked.

"NCR troopers, three of them. It looks like a simple patrol, or it could be a scouting party," Ilia responded.

"Do you think its from the group that attacked Jacobstown?" Marcus asked as he grabbed his light machine gun.

"Their uniforms look new, so I don't think their from that division," Ilia said as she pulled a plasma grenade from her belt, holding it behind her back. Ilia watched through the peephole, watching as the soldiers waited for a while, then left. Ilia walked over to the table and ate her dinner. Ilia went to sleep, as did Lily and Marcus. However, Blake decided to spend some more time awake then asleep.

Blake moved into the closet, only to see a hole leading up to the second story of the building. Using her faunus-like agility, she leapt up onto the second floor. As she looked around, Blake took notice of the thick layer of dust coating the halls. She walked into the nearest room to find something frightening. It was a bed with two skeletons lying there as if they passed away in their sleep.

" _What could have happened?"_ Blake thought as she walked around the room. She noticed a terminal that was still on. She got on it and started reading the first terminal entry as the moon rose into the night sky.

AN: I hope you all liked it, I decided to put two fights in this chapter with the sheer amount of firepower in this single episode.


	13. The Siege of Cottonwood Cove

Adam Taurus

Adam awoke to the sight of a wooden ceiling and a very concerned Brutus. "Adam! Thank the Caesar you're awake!" Brutus said with relief as he helped the faunus sit up.

"What happened?" Adam asked as he rubbed his head.

"Your body soaked up a lot of radiation. You passed out from the high amount of radiation poisoning. There should be some rad-away at Cottonwood Cove. It should only take us a few hours to get there. Here take these," Brutus handed four capsules to Adam as he downed them with some purified water. "They should slow down the amount of radiation you get when we leave this place," Brutus explained.

"Alright, let's get going. I hate being cramped up in places like this," Adam said as he rose from his seated position, grabbing his gear as the two of them headed out. Brutus led Adam through the irradiated ruins of Camp Searchlight towards Cottonwood Cove. As the rads began to die down, the two of them turned a corner, only to be met by a barrage of laser fire. Adam stubbled over to cover while Brutus pulled out his nine millimeter submachine gun, loading it with armor piercing rounds.

"Adam, were you hit?" Brutus asked.

"No, I wasn't-" Adam's answer was quickly interrupted by a stream of puke pouring out of his mouth.

"Looks like the radiation poisoning is taking a toll on you. Adam, just stay there, I'll take care of the laser turrets," Brutus said as he took aim and shot down the turrets. He went back to Adam, only to see him keeled over on the ground. He rushed over to his faunus mentor, helping him up to his feet. " _He's not doing so well. I need to get him to Cottonwood Cove so he can heal up,"_ Brutus thought as he helped Adam along towards the cove. The remaining journey was brief, as there were no foes to be found. Just as Brutus thought he might collapse under the weight of Adam's enervated body, a legionary approached them.

"You two! What are you doing here?!" the legionary shouted with his gun pointed at them.

"We're the legate's new trainees. We were on a mission in the Mojave and my partner here has extreme radiation poisoning," Brutus explained, a bead of sweat running down his cheek.

"Prove it, wastrel," the legionary shot back.

"Just shup up you disgusting peon," Adam said, reaching for something in his trenchcoat.

"Halt! What are you doing?!" the legionary shouted, pointing his shotgun at Adam's head.

"Getting your proof," Adam said, coughing up a few specks of blood. He pulled out a special metal seal, showing it to the legionary.

"M-my apologies. Please, get some medical attention," the legionary said with a bow.

"What was that?" Brutus asked as he led Adam over to the medical tent.

"Something Lanius gave me. He said to use it to gain access to any Legion camp. Apparently it's one of a kind and the Caesar has one too," Adam explained as he put it away.

Brutus nodded as he tended to Adam's wounds, using healing powder and administering radaway, reducing his radiation poisoning. Adam slept the rest of the day, enjoying the peaceful aura of the outpost. His mind lulled into a deep sleep, drifting off into the recesses of his memories. An image of a younger Sienna Khan, helping the young Adam off of the ground.

"What's your name, boy?" Sienna asked.

"A-adam, miss," the young Adam Taurus replied as he looked Sienna Khan in her eyes.

Sienna chuckled as she led him to a truck filled with White Fang recruits. "Well my name is Sienna Khan, and I'll be your mentor," she said with a warm smile, putting her arm around his shoulders. The image began to break as the truck began to move. The next image turned into a battle where Adam, Sienna, and some White Fang grunts were fighting off a hoard of grimm that was encircling their position.

"Adam! Deal with those beowolves! Grunts, take care of the rest!" Sienna shouted as Adam rushed a group of beowolves with his weapon in hand. Two of them rushed him, multiple rapid swipes were thrown Adam's way. He managed to evade them by sliding between their legs, slicing them half with an upward cleave. He send a flurry of slashes at four more approaching grim, the alpha of the herd making a slow approach, its armored hide posing a far greater challenge to the White Fang lieutenant. Instead of going in with a slash of its claws, the fowl grimm kicked up some dust, creating a small smokescreen. Adam started to fan the dust away, only to see that the alpha was gone once the smokescreen was cleared. He looked around, but it was nowhere to be found. Then Adam heard some leaves rustling above him as the alpha beowolf leaped onto him, pinning him to the ground, knocking his weapons out of his hands.

" _Shit. I need to get this thing off of me,"_ Adam thought as he held back the vicious maw that was trying to introduce him to death. However, Adam had already danced with the grim reaper, and he wasn't up for another waltz. He grabbed the alpha's neck, and while using his semblance, snapped its neck, killing it once and for all.

The image began to fall away as Adam regrouped with Sienna. The third and final apparition showed Blake as she fled from him on the Schnee train in Vale. Adam's fists clenched in anger as he turned away. He was awoken with the sound of gunfire.

"Adam! Get up! Cottonwood Cove is under attack!" Brutus shouted as he grabbed his nine millimeter submachine gun. Adam grabbed Wilt and Blush as he lept into action. There was a centurion gathering the legionaries behind a concrete building. Adam and Brutus joined them, awaiting their orders.

"Who is that?" Adam asked.

"The centurion is known as Aurelius of Phoenix, the commander of this outpost," Brutus replied. Adam nodded as Aurelius started to give out orders.

"Alright men! We are under attack by the degenerates known as the NCR! We are taking fire from both the top of that ridge and coming down the slope. I need a small squad to take out the snipers on the ridge so we can safely engage the hostiles on the slope. Only one third of our forces will engage the NCR forces and fall back to the rear line of tents. They'll try to free the slaves, and that's when we'll strike will the remaining two thirds of our forces. When they near the slave cage, release the mongrels," Aurelius ordered. "Who is willing to scale that cliff to take out the snipers?" the centurion asked.

"We are, sir!" Brutus volunteered.

"What are you doing?!" Adam snapped back at him with a whisper.

"Good to see some initiative, alright, you two will go while the rest of our forces lie in wait." Brutus nodded as Adam rolled his eyes. He then picked up his young companion and dashed to the cover of the wooden buildings. They moved up to the cliff face, Adam grabbing a rope. They slowly climbed up to the ridge, being careful not to alert their foes of their presence. Just as Adam reached the top of the cliff, Brutus' footing slipped. He quickly tossed the rope down to him, Brutus grabbing the rope just in time. Just as Adam began to pull the boy up, he garnered the attention of some NCR troopers. As the footsteps grew closer, Adam started to pull faster and faster.

"Who's there?" a trooper shouted, his gun ready to fire as he found Adam pulled up Brutus. "Stop!" the trooper ordered, aiming his service rifle at Adam's head. He swiftly grabbed a curved gladius and threw it at the trooper's neck, downing him in an instant. Adam finished pulling Brutus up and retrieved his gladius. The two of them moved closer to the sniper's nest, careful not alert any more NCR troopers. Adam grabbed Wilt and Blush, ready to cut down whomever was in his way. They arrived at the edge of the encampment, only ten troopers stationed at the sniper's nest.

Adam gave a smoke grenade to Brutus as he grabbed one for himself. The synched their throw, smoke filling up the nest. Adam and Brutus send a wave of lead into the smoke, laying waste to the nest. Once Wilt was out of ammo, Adam switched to his cowboy repeater as he continued to shoot into the smoke. Once the smoke cleared, only two remained. Adam charged the two of them with his curved galdii as the two troopers charged at him with their combat knives.

Adam dodged at stab from the first one, stabbing him through the throat as he rapidly slashed at the trooper's exposed abdomen. Adam held the now dead trooper captive, using him as shield from the living one as he slashed and stabbed. Then, using his semblance to put a tremendous amount of for force behind his shove, Adam threw the dead trooper on top of the living one. Then, as a final act of brutality, Adam stabbed the final trooper through the head with Blush. From the sniper's nest, Adam signaled the all clear, the first third of the forces moving towards the NCR forces coming down the slope. He watched as the plan began to come into fruition. Brutus and Adam watched as the NCR troopers pursued the false retreat of the Legion forces. As they approached the cages, what looked to be a NCR ranger halted their advance at the slave cage. Adam looked through the scope on the mounted anti-material rifle to see that the NCR forces were not freeing the slaves.

" _I need to do something, or else I won't be able to get back to the Legate,"_ Adam thought as he lined up the sights, aiming for the ranger's head. Adam took a deep breath, using him semblance to a lesser degree in order to help him focus. Then he fired. Brutus watched as the shot rang out, then the ranger's head was destroyed by the fifty caliber bullet, his now dead body dropping to the ground. The troops began to panic as the legion mongrels ambushed the troopers, and the legionaries soon followed. Adam and Brutus watched the massacre bellow in silence, taking in the absolute worst of humanity.

Once the battle was over, Aurelius himself greeted them on the ridge. "You two did some great work today. I'll make sure the Caesar gets word of your selfless sacrifice," Aurelius said as he led both of them back to Cottonwood Cove. "Now is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes. We need a ride back to the Legate's camp," Adam said as he cleaned his weapons.

"The Legate's camp you say? You two must be his new apprentices!" Aurelius chuckled as he gave a welcoming slap on the back to both Adam and Brutus.

"You know about us?" Brutus asked, scratching his head.

Aurelius nodded with a smile on his face. "You two are the talk of the Legion! Everyone's been wondering what kind of people you are! I'll get you that ride and someone to go along with you!" Aurelius said with charisma as he motioned towards the slave keeper. A slightly familiar woman was brought to Adam. When she looked up, he recognized who it was.

"Mother?!" Brutus said with disbelief, giving her a tight hug.

"She's all yours. She wasn't needed at Dry Wells as she was transferred here. However, we didn't have the resources to keep her here, so she'll be going back to the Legate's camp with you," Aurelius explained. "So long as you're ok with this," he said, looking at Adam for confirmation.

"I'll allow it. Now let's go," Adam said, walking towards the dock.

AN: And that's it for this chapter! I hope you guys and gals enjoyed this chapter. I have to say one of biggest challenges is writing Adam. Considering the animosity he receives from the fandom, I decided to cover him as well. While it has been a challenge, he will be receiving some _major_ changes to his character so that he won't be a faunus hitler. I really liked his characterization throughout the first three volumes of RWBY as a cool and intelligent foe. But in volumes 4, 5, and 6 he just became an unlikable edgy boi losing his mind.


	14. Lowering the Burden

**Just as a warning, there is going to be a lemon (sex scene) this chapter.**

Cinder Fall

The Courier gave a heavy sigh, knowing what was to come. "It's about time to let you know how I got the scars on my back," Six said as Cinder sat next to him, holding his hand.

"The deepest ones are from my childhood. My mother wasn't the kindest of people. Hell, she wasn't nice to me at all. She would always call me a freak and monster, but I never found out why. My father was the kind one, however he was away for most of the day as he was tasked with guarding our little settlement," Six said with a little chuckle, as Cinder noticed The Courier's grip beginning to tighten.

"Did she ever…" Cinder couldn't finish her own answer.

"Hit me? No. Instead she would whip me with a cat-of-nine-tails whip. I honestly don't know what hurt more, the pain caused from the whippings, or the fact that it was my own mother doing it," Six said as a few tears began to form under his eyes, however he made to effort to wipe them away. "I remember one time when I dropped some plates, she went wild with the whip. My mother was panting by the end of it," The Courier said.

"Did anyone know about this besides your parents?" Cinder asked, wrapping her arm around his shoulders in an effort to comfort him.

"Only one other. The wise man of the town, he was called Old Man Jake. Whenever my mother would let me have some free time I would go over to him. He would tell me stories of the wastes, about the vault dweller of vault 13, of the chosen one who brought the downfall of the Enclave, and countless others. Whenever I would visit him he would give me sweets. He was the exact opposite from my mother. Where she was cruel and cold, he was kind and warm. But one day… he died. From that day forward, it felt like there was no light in my life," Six said as the droplets of tears turned into a small stream of them running down his cheek. Cinder grabbed a handkerchief and wiped away his tears.

"And what about the shallow scars?" Cinder asked.

"I… honestly can't remember," Six said as he got up from the bed. "I'm going to take a shower," Six said, leaving Cinder there to sit on the bed my herself. She waited there for a few minutes, thinking over what she had just learned about her companion. " _What an awful childhood,"_ Cinder thought as feelings of sympathy began to grow for Courier Six. " _But he's starting to trust me. I just hope he doesn't break down. There has to be something that's been keeping him together all those years. And what about the other scars? Does he really not know, or does he just not want to tell me?"_

"You can go take a shower if you want," Six said to Cinder. The pyromancer nodding in response as she took her turn with the bathroom. Once the door was locked she began to take off her cloths. First, she lifted her armor off of her body, then removed her shirt and pants, then her undergarments. She examined her body; Cinder was surprised at how much dirt there was. She turned on the shower, and stepped in. Only for her to jump in surprise as the cold water shot out of the shower head. The water quickly warmed up, relaxing the muscles of the fall maiden.

" _A hot shower never felt so good,"_ Cinder thought as she enjoyed the bliss of the warmth of the shower. She watched as clumps of dirt and sand was chipped off of her and washed away. She leaned her head back, allowing the water to flow down her body unhindered. The sensation it gave her made Cinder smile in pleasure. She grabbed some shampoo and meticulously spread it throughout her long, jet-black hair. Cinder turned so that her back was facing the shower-head. She then leaned her head back, letting the water wash out her hair without getting any shampoo in her eyes. The sensation was even greater when the water hit her back, Cinder hugging herself and swaying within the shower. She grabbed a bar of soap and washed her face. Once she was done, Cinder felt amazing. It was as if she just got back from a day at the spa.

She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a single towel, wrapping it around her waist, leaving her breasts fully exposed. " _I need to cheer him up, because if I don't, there's a chance he won't leave this place to get that Platinum Chip House was talking about,"_ Cinder thought. As she entered the bedroom. She noticed Six was already sleeping in the bed. As she came closer, Cinder also noticed that the towel was draped over a chair. She decided to join his example and discarded her own towel.

Unbenounced to Six, Cinder was approaching him stark naked. She joined him under blankets, becoming his little spoon. A smirk grew on Cinder's face as she realized he was just as naked as she was. She felt Six's arms give her a tight hug as she snuggled up to him.

Courier Six began to grumble as his eyes began to open. "Cinder? What are you doing?" Six asked with a yawn.

"I'm giving you my thanks. I thought that with all you've done for me, you deserve at least this. Anyways, I think we could both use some company tonight," Cinder said as she slowly began to climb on top of him, taking a light seat on his pelvis, making sure to save the best part for last. She slowly leaned down, locking lips with Six, their tongues playing around with each others. Just as Six started to break away, Cinder kept their lips locked by gently pressing the back of his head with her hand. For a split second The Courier resisted, only for him to continue the kiss. After a few minutes of making out, Cinder broke off the kiss, a thin stream of saliva connecting their tongues. Then, she gave multiple kisses on Six's neck, as he followed suit.

"Does that feel good?" Cinder asked with an erotic smirk on her face. Six responded with a chuckle and a nod. "Good, now let's continue," Cinder said as she began to rub her rear on The Courier's now erect member. She felt it stiffen further as Cinder continued to arouse him. Cinder, however, was too focused on The Courier's rod to notice him grabbing her voluptuous breasts. She gave a soft moan of pleasure as he kneaded the soft mounds of flesh in his hands. Cinder rested her head in the crook of Six's neck as her mouans were joined by sensual panting.

Six moved his thumbs to rub her nipples, the frequency and volume of her moans increasing. Once Six realized the effect this had on her, he moved the rest of his fingers to focus on her nipples. Cinder arched her back in pleasure as Six took both of her nipples in her mouth, smacking her ass-cheeks as his tongue stimulated both nipples at once, a small amount of milk coming out of them.

Cinder wrapped her arms around Six's head. "Please honey… don't stop. Don't. Stop!" Cinder begged as she bit her lip, trying to contain her uncontrollable ecstasy. The Courier squeezed her rear and continued to suck on her breasts, as Cinder began to excrete a liquid from her clit.

"Enjoying yourself?" Six asked as he released her nipples which were soaked with Cinder's breast milk and Six's saliva.

"Nhh!" Cinder moaned with her cheeks flushed with pleasure as her eyes began to roll into the back of her head with arousal. "Honey… put it in me…" Cinder pleaded with a moan.

"Alright, dear," Six said as he raised her upper body to face Cinder and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. This time, Courier Six's tongue was the dominant one, consitricting Cinder's as she continued her moans. Then, Six lifted Cinder by the rear, slowly lowering her opening onto his manhood. Their kiss was broken off when Cinder became as stiff as the shaft that was pumping in and out of her. With every entry into her pussy, Cinder moaned louder and louder as Six grabbed her waist. She began to revolve her pelvis, which only continued to stimulate Courier Six. And with every pounding she received from his massive, erect cock, Six got closer and closer to her womb.

Six felt Cinder's ass press against his theighs. Six had an idea. The Courier leg-locked the erotic pyromancer as Cinder realized she was in safe hands. As she began to reach her climax, Cinder's tongue stuck out from her mouth, only for Six to once again constrict it with his own as they embraced in a third, loving, passionate kiss. Cinder felt The Courier's cock start to bulge, she smirked as she knew what was to come.

"Do it!" Cinder moaned through the kiss. "Fill me with your seed!" The Courier gave a slow nod as he released his semen into Cinder's womb. Her entire body went limp as her womb was filled up with Six's love-seed. Cinder laid sprawled out on Six's body as the excess sperm leaked out of her. The pyromancer laid there as the last of the natural pleasure simmered down. Six began to massage Cinder's back as she nuzzled her face into his muscular chest.

"You feel better now?" Cinder asked as she started to massage Six's scalp.

"Yea, that was great," Six said with a chuckle. "How would you feel about taking a bath… together?" Six asked.

"I don't see why not," Cinder said with a happy smile.

Six nodded, gently lifting Cinder off of him as she childishly pouted, trying but failing to keep on him. "I'll go get the bath ready, I'll give you a shout when it's ready," Six said as he walked off to the bathroom. The second Six exited the room, Cinder began to panic. " _Wait. Wait! I could get pregnant! Shit! Shit! Shit! Is there birth control in this world?! Oh god, why did I do that…"_ Cinder thought as her mind raced.

Seconds later, Six popped his head into the room. "Oh, there's some birth control pills on the dresser," Six said before disappearing without giving time for Cinder to thank him. She rushed over and grabbed the pills, downing them with a glass of purified water.

"Its ready, dear!" Six shouted from the bathroom.

"Coming!" Cinder shouted back as she quickly walked into the bathroom to see Six already in the tub. "It doesn't look like there's any room for me…" Cinder said with a deadpan look on her face.

"You can sit in my lap," Six said as Cinder rolled her eyes before taking a spacious seat in his lap. Six started to clean her back as Cinder reached over to a nightstand which had a radio on it. She turned it on and a familiar song started to play.

Cinder looked over her shoulder to see The Courier singing along.

"Blue moon you saw me standing alone

Without a dream in my heart

Without a love of my own!"

The promancer decided to sing along with her companion.

"And then there suddenly appeared before me

The only one my arms will hold

I heard somebody whisper "Please adore me"

And when I looked, the moon had turned to gold!" Cinder sang along as a smile began to form on her face.

Six and Cinder locked eyes as they started to sync their singing.

"Blue moon!

Now I'm no longer alone

Without a dream in my heart

Without a love of my own!"

The two of them giggled as Six turned off the radio while giving a loving kiss on the lips to Cinder. "Six, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me. You saved me, taught me how to survive, taught me about this world, and protected me when you could. At first I thought you were doing it out of some moral obligation, but the more time I spent with you, the more I realized that you had nothing to gain and as such you did it out of kindness," Cinder explained as she turned around and gave a peck on the cheek. She giggled when he started to blush.

"You're right on the money. Now sit still and just enjoy the moment," Six said as he hugged Cinder as she shrunk into the water, only the eyes up where above water to hide her blushing cheeks, blowing embarrassed bubbles. Six patted her head as he reached for two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.

"I never knew you drank," Cinder said with astonishment.

"I don't, except for special celebrations," Six said as he poured himself a glass of wine. "You want one?" Six asked.

Cinder nodded as she took the glass and watched as Six carefully poured it. "And what are we celebrating?" Cinder asked.

"Getting here alive, meeting each other, and for our future exploits! Cheers!" Six shouted as he clanked his glass to hers, then downing the entire glass.

"How did it taste?" Cinder asked as she sipped from her glass.

"God-awful," Six chuckled. "But still worth it," The Courier said as he put his wine glass back on the table. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, actually. It's a bit bitter, but it has a smooth after taste," Cinder analyzed as she finished the wine. "Now let's go to bed, honey," Cinder recommended as she got out of the bath. She could tell how much he was admiring her body, and in turn she certainly admired his. She walked off to the bedroom. A few minutes passed and Six joined her in the bedroom to find her wearing a set of sexy sleepwear while laying on the bed in a seductive manor.

"Cinder, love, I'm worn out, let's just cuddle up and go to sleep," Six said as he climbed in under the covers. Cinder sighed as joined him as the little spoon as he wrapped his arms around her. Cinder moved closer to him, burying her head in his chest. The two of them dozed off, experiencing wonderful dreams of love and affection.

Six awoke to an alarm blaring, telling him that it was ten o'clock in the morning. He got up, rustaling a sleepy Cinder's head.

"Mmmmm, ten more minutes…" Cinder begged as she pulled the covers over her head, wrapping herself up in them, looking like a Cinder-Burrito. Six looked at the sight of Cinder and smiled. "I could get used to this…" Six whispered to himself as he combed through Cinder's hair. "But tomorrow we go find Benny."

AN: That'll be it for this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed this lemon. Truth be told, I always wanted to write a Courier x Cinder lemon, but I felt if I just wrote a one-shot it would make no sense. Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of stopping now, and I intend to finish this story and I enjoy writing this. I hope this won't sway your view of this fic as a whole with that knowledge. I feel like this has become my pride and joy out of all the fics I've written. If you liked it or didn't, drop a review and tell what you liked or didn't.


	15. Infiltrate, Detonate, Evacuate

Ilia Amitola

She awoke before anyone else in the building, looking around the room while grabbing her things. She noticed that Blake's sleeping bag was empty. Ilia moved over to the table, noticing a note that read " _Meet me outside, Ilia. I have something I need to tell you."_ Ilia walked outside. Blake was stand right outside the door with her weapons already equipped and her Enclave power armor on.

"Get your power armor on, Ilia, there's something I want to show you. Yesterday, when we were fighting against those raiders, I noticed there was a large fortification around the area we were taking fire from. We didn't destroy all of their anti-air batteries, and if we want to use the vertibird, we'll need to destroy them. That way we won't be shot down in the sky," Blake explained as she inspected her weaponry.

"And just _how_ will the two of us infiltrate that place? Wouldn't it be better to have Marcus and Lily join us?" Ilia asked.

"They would be too loud and would give away our position. This will be a stealth mission. All we need to do is set these charges, get to a safe distance, then detonate the charges," Blake answered as she pulled out a large bag filled with C-4.

"There was something _I_ saw when we were up in the vertibird, It was some large circular door. If we can, could we explore it? There has to be a reason why all of those raiders were swarming around that thing," Ilia reasoned.

"Alright, we'll destroy the AA batteries, then investigate this door. Now let's go, we won't have the cover of dusk for much longer," Blake said as she led Ilia towards the south vegas ruins. The sun was starting to rise as they reached the junkwalls.

"How the hell are we gonna scale this thing?! Its huge!" Ilia complained.

"We could blast through it, but that would only draw more attention to us. However, It looks like we don't have much of a choice in the matter. All the other entrances are covered by the raiders. I suggest we blow a hole in the wall, then wait for a group of them to inspect it and ambush them," Blake said as she planted some of Ilia's plasma grenades at the thin and venerable points in the barrier. Then they got to their separate positions and shot at the grenades, a chain reaction occuring in the barrier, blowing a huge opening in it.

Blake and Ilia stood their grounds, laser and plasma rifles held tightly was they waited for the fiends to inspect the explosion. As the footsteps got closer and closer. Ilia aimed down the sight, pointing the end of the barrel at the head of a raider. The second his head came into view, Ilia blasted a load of plasma in his face. He fell to the ground, alerting his comrades to the two faunus' presence. Blake took hold of her gatling laser, mowing down the incoming hostiles while Ilia begant to shoot her multiplas rifle.

"It looks like stealth is out of question!" Ilia shouted over the sound of gunfire and lasers. "We should cut our losses and retreat!"

Blake shook her head. "No! We'll be landlocked if we don't destroy those AA batteries! Continue the mission!" She shoulded.

"Shouldn't we get Lily and Marcus for this?" Ilia asked as she blasted two fiends armed with pool cues.

"No! They'll be guarding the vertibird. We can't lose our one advantage against everyone else in this world," Blake replied as she sprayed and preyed.

"Alright! Let's finish this damned mission and be on our way," Ilia quipped back with irratance as the two girls pressed their attack, pushing back the raiders' forces deeper into their territory. Ilia began to camoflauge herself, blending into her surroundings. Blake continued to lay down fire, butchering the retreating raiders. "Blake! To the AA guns!" Ilia directed as she ran towards the remaining flak guns.

She started to place the C4 on the guns. As she moved to the second gun, Ilia began to receive fire from the fiends. She took out her plasma defender, blasting away at them, forcing them behind cover. "Blake! I need suppressive fire on these guys! I'm taking too much fi- Arg!" Ilia groaned as she got hit in the shoulder with a few small caliber bullets.

"Ilia! Stay there, I'm on way!" Blake shouted as she leaped towards her friend as she switched her gatling laser for a tri beam laser rifle, downing raiders left and right. She joined Ilia, placing the explosives on the second AA battery while Ilia started to treat her wounds. Once they had finished, the both of them got to a safe distance and detonated the explosives. They watched as the one thing keeping them out of the skies was now rendered useless.

"Are you still up for exploring that vault?" Blake asked with a chuckle as she approached Ilia.

"Yea, I can handle it," Ilia said, loading her multiplas rifle.

"Alright, let's get to that vault door," Blake said with a smile as she led Ilia over to the gigantic, circular entrance. She pulled the lever on the control pad, the door slowly rolled open. Both of them advanced with their weapons raised.

"Hey! Who the fuck is that?!" A female voice shouted. " _Shit. There's more enemies,"_ Blake thought as she aimed her recharger rifle ahead of her.

"I said, WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?!" the voice shouted even louder, the sound of guns being loaded could be heard. Blake elbowed Ilia in the side, signaling her to keep her guard up and be ready to take action. Then, two bright lights were shined in their faces, and they were approached by five raiders each. One went to knock Blake out, only for her to use her semblance to evade the swift blow and shot all five of them dead. Ilia followed suit and kick two of her captors to the ground, blasting the other three in the throat and chest. The remaining two charged Ilia with blades in hand, only for one to be stabbed by Ilia's weapon and the other to have his right arm cut off by Gambol Shroud.

A stream of bullets came flying at the two girls as they took cover behind the crates. "How are we gonna do this, Blake?" Ilia asked as she tossed a plasma grenade into the corridor as a consistent stream of hostiles filed out of the doorway.

"Get your plasma caster! I'll get my gatling laser, then we'll hit them together!" Blake shouted as she readied her weapon. "Fire on three!" Blake ordered. "One!" the two girls took their position. "Two!" They readied to strike. "Three!" Both girls leaped out and started firing off their heavy weapons. Raider after raider fell as the two of them started their slow advance through the corridors of the vault. As they turned the corner, Blake was shot in the legs, downing her.

"Blake!" Ilia shouted as her friend pulled out her recharger pistol, fending off the fiends. "Catch!" Ilia threw her the plasma defender, then she grabbed Blake from under the shoulder and dragged her to cover as more and more fiends charged at her.

"They just keep coming!" Blake shouted as she kept on shooting the raiders down. "We need to get somewhere safe!" Ilia dragged Blake to a secured area, spotting mines laid out in a hallway. She shot each one individually before dragging Blake to the secured room.

"Hey! Stay where you are!" A man's voice shouted as he pointed a gun at Blake's head. "Who are you two? And don't turn around, or else I shoot," the man threatened.

"We're just exploring this place, that's all," Ilia said, raising her hands.

"With all the shooting you're doing, I'd be surprised if this place wasn't a fucking hornet's nest!" the man shouted.

"W-we encountered raiders. We didn't expect this many of them," Blake explained.

"Clearly. Now throw your weapons behind you towards my voice," he ordered. The two girls did as he said. They heard him taking the weapons. "You can turn around now," He said, as the two girls looked to find a crippled NCR ranger.

"You… you bastard!" Ilia shouted as she charged him, socking him in the jaw.

"What the hell was that for?!" the ranger yelled back, catching Ilia's wrist.

"Your people… they attacked an innocent settlement!" Ilia screamed in pure rage in the ranger's face. "They _slaughtered_ people who did nothing wrong!" Ilia screeched.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" the ranger asked in an oddly calm tone.

"Jacobstown! The NCR slaughtered nearly every inhabitant of that settlement!" Ilia shouted back.

The ranger's eyebrows raised as he heard Ilia's complaint. "Jacobstown? That place finally burned to the ground? At least now something productive can be done there," the ranger quipped.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you hold such contempt for the super mutants and nightkin?" Blake asked as she tended to her wounds.

"You wanna know what those _freaks_ and _monsters_ did to me?!" the ranger shouted at both Ilia and Blake, his rage making his entire body shake as if he were about to erupt. "Their kind slaughtered my entire settlement! Killed everyone except for me, and that's only because I was out on a fucking recon mission!" the ranger shouted, a small echo bouncing off of the metal walls of the door. "Do you know how it feels… to come back from a mission, only to see your entire town dead?! Wouldn't you do anything to make sure it doesn't happen to others?!"

"Yes," Ilia said as she hung her head low, finally understanding the ranger's hatred for mutants. "You know, I feel the same way about humans," Ilia said, taking a seat next to the ranger. As she took a closer look, she notice there was a half full bottle of whisky under his coat. She glanced over to his revolver to notice that at most there was only one bullet in the gun.

"Really? Then you and me are one in the same, kiddo!" the ranger said, wrapping his arm around Ilia's shoulders. It was at this time that Ilia could smell the alcohol under in his breath.

"Are you… drunk?" Ilia asked as the man gave a nod. "How many bullets are in that gun of yours?" Ilia asked nervously.

The ranger took out his bottle, downing a quarter in just one gulp. "Just one. Was saving it for myself, but then you kids came in and I didn't wanna scar either of you. So once you leave I'm gonna blow my fucking brains out!" he said with a boisterous laugh.

"Why?" Blake asked as she got to her feet.

The man gave off a drunken burp before answering her question. "Well isn't it obvious? I'm out of rations, I'm out of supplies, and I only have one bullet for one gun. I'll be damned if I let those fiends take my life! If I die here, it'll be by my hand, not theirs!" he shouted.

"Do you have a family?" Blake asked.

The ranger gave a sorrowful shake of the head as he started to drink from his bottle, only to have it knocked from his hands by Ilia. "What was that for?!" he shouted angrily.

"I may hate who you fight for, but I don't hate _you_. You need to stop drinking like this. We'll get you out alive so that you _can_ make a family. Now give me the gun," Ilia pleaded as she tried to grab it out of his hands.

"I'm… sorry, I can't do that," he said as he aimed the revolver at the side of his head. His finger slowly inched up to the trigger. Both of the girls saw it and took action. Blake used the sheath of Gambol Shroud to shield his head, while Ilia restrained his hand with her whip.

"We're getting you out of here," Blake said as she confiscated the ranger's weapons.

"How am I supposed to escape if I can't even walk!"

"With this," Blake said as she grabbed a stimpack from her medical bag. Ilia helped her to steady the ranger's legs as Blake administered the stimpacks. She steadily applied the accelerated healing medicine to the ranger's legs. The medicine worked quickly and the man was on his feet in a matter of hours.

"Now that you're on your feet, we'll escort you to nearest NCR post. Where is it?" Blake asked.

"Camp McCarran to the northeast. Once we get out of fiend territory, there should be some NCR troopers patrolling the outskirts. I should be fine from there."

"Good to know, Ilia and I will clear the way for you, while you stay behind cover. Understand?"

"Yea," the ranger replied. "Let's go." The three of them set off into hostile territory, eventually delivering the now sober ranger to a three man patrol of NCR troopers.

"Hey, I never caught your names," The ranger asked.

"I'm Ilia, and she's Blake, how about you?"

"Derrick. Well, Ilia, Blake, be careful out there," Derrick said as he waved goodbye.

"I think we'll be fine. You need to watch the alcohol," Ilia said with a stern tone.

"Don't worry ma'am. We'll make sure he stays miles away from a bar," one of the NCR troopers said as the remaining two took Derrick into the base.

When Blake and Ilia arrived back at Monte Carlo Suites, both Marcus and Lily were standing out front with their arms crossed.

"Where were you two today?" Marcus asked with a stern look on his face.

"It's a long story…" Ilia said, nervously scratching the back of her neck.

"We have all dinner to hear it," Marcus replied as he led the girls into the shelter.


	16. A Difficult Decision

Adam Taurus

Adam awoke to a blazing sun and an excited Brutus shaking him to the point of a human-induced seizure. " _The boy seems to have been a lot more energized ever since his mother joined us here,"_ Adam thought as he got up from bed. Just as he finished getting ready for the day, Legate Lanius walked into the tent.

Adam and Brutus stood at attention. "Good morning, men. Adam, I have a solo mission for you to undertake that is of the utmost importance. You will be destroying a keep point of transportation of the NCR, their monorail. It moves troops from their largest outpost, Camp McCarran, to the New Vegas Strip. To get a full debriefing, find an undercover by the name of Curtis. Once you have destroyed the monorail, you will assassinate President Aaron Kimball of the NCR. He is expected to arrive in three days from now, far earlier than we expected. Due to such circumstances, you have no time to waste. As for Brutus, you will be training one-on-one with me. Now go!" The Legate commanded.

Adam grabbed his travel bag, along with a map, an NCR uniform, and some explosives. He set off towards Camp McCarran at a cheetah's pace. The faunus man only took five hours to arrive outside of the NCR base. He took cover and got into his NCR trooper fatigues, the helmet hiding his horns, and the tinted goggles hiding his emerald green eyes.

Adam entered the base, his disguise fully working. " _I'm supposed to meet up with a Sergeant Curtis,"_ he thought as the large, metal doors opened. He approached the nearest trooper to ask for the aforementioned Sergeant Curtis.

"Curtis? He's over in the airport," the trooper said, pointing to the monolithic building. Adam nodded, moving towards the building with a powerful stride. He opened the door, taking in the view of the repurposed base. " _Impressive, it looks like these humans are far more organized than it seemed at the battle of Cottonwood Cove…"_ Adam pondered as he entered Curtis' room.

"Trooper! What the hell do you think you're doing here?! State your business!" the sergeant ordered with ferocity.

"Calm down, Curtis. I know who you really are, I'm the agent our mutual friend sent. Or should I say, Picus," Adam said, a smirk growing on his face.

"So _you_ must be the Lanius' new apprentice," Picus said in a hushed tone. "You know what you must do."

"Yes, I even brought my own supplies," Adam boasted.

"Good. The monorail will be departing in an hour, don't be late. From there you'll meet up with legion operative just a klicks west of Hoover Dam. He'll give you the rundown on your second mission," Picus said, shooing Adam away. He took the hint and left, making sure to shut the door behind him.

" _I guess I wait…"_ Adam thought as he took a seat in one of many seats and waited as his mind lulled into a daydream. An image of a woman tied to a cross and a man slowly approaching her. He watched in curiosity as the man pulled out a sharp dagger as a pair of twisted and devilish horns began to sprout out of the man's head.

The faunus watched as the man continuously stabbed the woman until her body went limp. There was no screams for help, no resistance from the woman, but strangely enough an odd feeling of relief. It seemed to Adam, that the woman was yearning to be released from life, only to be brought to the reaper's door.

A chill shot through Adam's spine as the image began to fade away, a deep sense of dread planted itself in his stomach. Just as the dread began to root, another image started to form. This one was far more familiar to the White Fang lieutenant.

It was a White Fang caravan being attacked by humans. It was made up of five trucks full of relief supplies heading towards the southern Anima town of Fretz. It was a port town which was supported by maritime trade and transportation. The caravan was going to be moving the relief supplies to Menagerie. These humans, however, were had been following the convoy for days, not attacking it, just stalking it. Adam and Blake were tasked with protecting it from attackers.

Now, the humans made their move. They at shot the tires, leaving the supplies venerable. Then they engaged the caravan in combat. "We're pinned!" a White Fang grunt shouted as bullets whizzed by them. Adam peeked out of cover to see a grunt and a human engaged in melee combat. The human swung his machete at the grunt as she rolled out of the way. He lunged forward with his weapon, scraping her bunny ears. The grunt flinched in pain, giving an opening for the assailant as he gripped her shoulder and stabbed her through the gut.

As she tried to crawl away, he took a combat knife, and pin one of her ears to the ground as she pleaded for him to stop. Adam couldn't bear to hear the bunny faunus' screams of both pain and terror. He dashed at the attacker sending a storm of slashes a swipes in the human's direction. The man and his fellow assailants fled the scene as Adam held the grunt in his arms.

"Don't worry, they're gone now," Adam said, trying his best to sooth the grunt's fears.

"It hurts so much…" the grunt moaned as she held her wounded gut.

"We'll get you out of here alive," Adam lied.

"Adam, we have to go," Blake said as she walked over.

"Blake, give me five minutes," Adam said as he calmed down the grunt during her final moments. He then took the lifeless grunt over to a tree and closed her eyelids. "You're in a better place now. A more kind place." Adam returned to the convoy as the image began to dissipate.

The feeling of dread only mounted as his mind continued to wallow in despair. His mounting negative attitude was interrupted by the sound of the monorail arriving. His eyes shot open and he grabbed his things. " _Now let's get this mission over with,"_ Adam thought as he installed the bomb with no one in sight. He managed to slip away as the bomb began to count down.

He exited the base as he heard the explosion from the monorail. " _One mission down, one to go,"_ the faunus thought as he moved to meet up with his next contact, Cato Hostilius. As Adam moved through the Mojave, his mind went back to the attack on the convy and the brutality of that human. He couldn't get the image of grunt screaming in pain out of his head. His mind moved to the woman on the cross. The action of the horned man disgusted him, how any self-respecting man could attack a person who was bound to a post was beyond him. It was only then that he realized what he was trying to do in Vale was the very same as the act that disgusted him.

" _What kind of man am I?"_ Adam thought as he ran through the slopes and hills. " _I need to improve, as a person, but how can I do that?"_ Adam pondered as he arrived at his destination. "Cato Hostilius, I presume?" Adam asked.

"Yes, here are your things. You'll be infiltrating one of the towers so that you can have a good vantage point. Here, take these, they're called stealth boys and can be used to completely cloak yourself. Use it to infiltrate the tower. Once you have him in view, take the shot with this," Cato said as he gave Adam a scoped anti-material rifle and the stealth boys. "It only has one full magazine, so you only five shots. I hope you can make the first. Once President Kimball is eliminated, flee and regroup at the Legate's Camp."

"I understand," Adam replied as his mind raced about is past actions.

"You have a day and a half until Kimball arrives, so you can camp out with me until then," Cato offered as Adam took a seat next to him. "So, kid. How did you end up joining the Legion?" Cato asked.

"I was a prisoner of the NCR when the Legion attacked. I was taken hostage and send to Dry Wells and treated as a child," Adam answered.

"That's the tale of most legionaries, except for being an NCR prisoner. The Legion is made up of eighty-seven conquered tribes," the spy explained.

"Eighty-seven?!" Adam responded in shock.

"Yup. And I think Caesar wants to make the NCR the eighty-eighth. Personally, I don't think they can. The NCR's tech is too powerful to fight them head-on, the Legion's numbers fell after the first battle of Hoover Dam, and the second we got into NCR territory our forces would be slaughtered. Some think that because the NCR forces are spread thin in the Mojave that they are in their own terf. That's simply not the case," Cato said with a sigh.

"Good to know," Adam replied as the sun began to dip below the horizon. "I'm going to get some sleep." Adam dozed off as Cato took watch. As Adam fell asleep, he began to hear foreign sounds all around him. A cloak of darkness hid the creatures as they continued to make the noises. "Get away!" Adam shouted, trying to scare away the beasts. However the noises continued to get louder as the darkness creeped closer and closer to his feet. "I said get away! Get away! Get away! Get away!" Adam shouted in desperation. "I'm tired of you haunting me! I'm tired of you _things_ living in my mind! Show yourselves!" Adam screeched in anger.

The creatures, or rather creature, showed itself as the darkness subsided and it stepped out of the dark. What Adam saw was a lovecraftian horror that trumped the horror of any grimm he had known. It was a giant, congealed mass of bodies hundreds of hands and arms sticking out of the abdomen, reaching for Adam. About half as many heads were dotted around the top of the body. Adam was paralyzed with fear as it cried out to him.

"Adam…" It moaned as it inched closer to him. "Adam, what have you doooooooone? Why did you do this to us, Adam? Why did you kill us, Adam?" the faunus shut his eyes and covered his ears in fright, like a child in a haunted house. "Don't ignore us Adam! Don't you _dare_ ignore us!" it howled in rage as it took hold of the White Fang lieutenant. He began to shake uncontrollably, just wanting the nightmare to end. "It won't end until you repent, Adam!" the monstrosity screamed.

Then, it recoiled in pain and released Adam from its grasp. He looked over to where the wound was to see Brutus holding a hunting rifle, aiming it at the many heads of the beast. " _The boy. I can redeem myself if I protect the boy!"_ Adam thought as he started to calm down. The monstrosity took aim at Brutus, only for Adam to snatch the rifle from him and take aim. "Brutus, run!" Adam shouted. The young legionary started to run as Adam stood his ground and fired. However, the beast did not yield. He fired another shot, it had no effect. Just as Adam thought he would be trampled, the beast evaporated and Adam woke up from his nightmare.

"Whoa there kiddo, you alright?" Cato asked as he helped Adam get to his feet. "You were freaking out. Were you having a nightmare?"

Adam nodded as he took a sip of tea that Cato had boiled. "Yea, some real scary stuff."

"Well it's all over now, so you can relax," Cato reassured him as he made breakfast. The last day passed without incident as Adam waited for the sun to rise for the sun to rise. Once it did, Adam was off for Hoover Dam. As he scaled the final mound, Hoover Dam began to come into view. " _So this is Hoover Dam… it's absolutely amazing. Humans in this world can build things like this when they're united. But they fight amongst each other so much,"_ Adam thought as he activated his stealth boy, sneaking through security and climbing up the tower.

He started to get ready for Aaron Kimball's arrival. He took out the rifle and adjusted the scope. As he finished up, the sound of rotor blades in the distance could be heard making their approach. Then, a single vertibird pierced through the clouds and on its way towards the Dam. Adam watched closely as it landed and President Kimball walked out with a NCR ranger security detail.

As Kimball took to the stage and started his speech, Adam looked down the sights and moved his finger towards the trigger. He lined up the crosshairs onto the target's head. Thoughts of changing began to drift through his mind as his trigger finger started to shake. " _If I want to change, I have to stop killing,"_ Adam thought as his finger moved closer to the trigger. " _But I could be killed if I fail this mission, or worse, the boy could be killed,"_ Adam thought. As he waged a mental civil war, Kimball continued his speech. " _I can't kill him! I can't! When I return, I'll get Brutus and run."_ Then, Adam made a decision; he fired a shot just above President Kimball, missing his head by four inches. The president was rushed to his vertibird as Adam made his escape.

An: That's the chapter! In this chapter I really wanted to address Adam's mindset. He can't admit what he's done wrong, and if I want to write a redemption arc for him (which I do) I need to address that. This will only be the beginning for Adam's redemption arc and changing him fundamentally as a character. In volumes 1-3 he was cold, ruthless, and calculating, but in volumes 4-5 he just seemed like a whiny little bitch, and It was sad to see. I intend to make him from the cold, calculating, and ruthless man into a caring and disciplined father to Brutus.


	17. Burn it to the Ground

Cinder Fall

Cinder cuddled up to Six as she felt him wrap his arm around her, the young pyromancer rested her head in the crook of The Courier's neck. "Uh, do we have to get up today?" Cinder moaned as she gave Six a passionate kiss on the lips. "I'd rather we just stay in bed all day," Cinder suggested.

Six got up from bed as he kissed Cinder on the forehead. "No. We need to confront Benny and get the Platinum Chip. Once we finish that up, we can relax for a bit. Now get your equipment and lets go," Six said as he put on his shirt and lightweight leather armor, then his weapons. Cinder quickly followed suite, grabbing her armor and weapons as she followed Six into the elevator.

"Six, do you have any goals for this world?" Cinder asked as she loaded her hunting revolver.

Six chuckled as he answered her question with one of his own. "What do you mean, goal?"

"Something concrete that you wish to accomplish," Cinder explained.

"Yea, I have one. I want to be able to make a place where people can live peacefully. Like the Garden of Eden," Six said. "People here didn't deserve a world like this, a world so hostile, a world they had no part in creating," Six said as they reached the ground floor. "It'll take time, and I'll probably be dead by the time my goal is realized, but it will be worth it."

"Would you be willing to come back with me to Remnant? I hate to admit it, but I don't think I can beat Salem by myself," Cinder admitted as they approached the Tops.

Six paused, thinking out his answer. "I will," he said with a smile. "We have to look after eachother. Anyways, we haven't finished with your training," Six said with a chuckle. "Now let's go get Benny," Six said with a serious and determined look on his face. Cinder nodded as they walked through the doors of the Tops casino.

Cinder was greeted by a Tops employee asking for her weapons. "If I wouldn't be able to use my weapons, then why did I bring them loaded?" she asked with her devilish smirk, aiming the hunting revolver at the man's head. He cowered in fear as Six walked towards the man with the black and white checkered coat. He put a firm hand on his shoulder as the man in the checkered coat turned around to face The Courier.

"What in the goddamn?!" Benny shouted as an extremely surprised look was painted on his face. "You mother fucker! You're supposed to be dead!" Benny shouted in disbelief.

"Well…" Six said as a vengeful smirk started to grow on his face. "I guess you could say… from where you're standing it looks like and eighteen karat run of bad luck."

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Get the hell away from me you frankenstein monster!" Benny screamed as he fell to the floor.

"That's quite a rude thing to say to my lover," Cinder said with a frown on her face. She aimed her hunting revolver at Benny's head.

"Whoa there! What do you want from me?!" Benny asked with his hands raised.

"The Platinum Chip," Six said.

"And your coat," Cinder continued as Six did a double take.

"Why would I need his coat?" Six asked, pulled out Chance's knife and pointed it at Benny's jugular.

"Well, when we go to Remnant I want you to have at least one good outfit," Cinder explained.

Six rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Oh come on! The leather armor is a good look," Six argued.

"For a brute. Anyways, we should get back to the task at hand," Cinder said, looking back at Benny only to see him running towards the elevator.

"Get him!" Six shouted only for both him and Cinder to be blocked by Benny's goons. Cinder activated the serrated claws in her robotic arm and slashed out their throats. Six threw them aside as the remaining staff pulled out guns and started firing at the two of them. "Get to cover!" Six yelled as he pulled out his Mercenary's Grenade Rifle and loaded up a few plasma grenades and fired, taking out seven men in total. Cinder picked off five more with her hunting revolver.

"Do you think he got away?" Cinder asked.

"No. There aren't any back exits; Mr. House was able to give me the floor plans for the Tops, so the only place he can go is up," Six explained as the last of Benny's men were downed. They moved towards the elevator and entered it.

"So where do you think he's hiding out?" Cinder inquired.

"Where else but the presidential?" Six answered as he pressed the button for the presidential suite. As they waited for the elevator to reach the floor, Six pulled out his katana and Cinder pulled out her 12.7mm submachine gun and loaded a magazine of hollow-point rounds.

"You ready?" Cinder asked.

"I've been ready since the night he shot me in the head," Six chuckled as the elevator doors opened. Cinder laid down a blanket of fire at the bodyguards while Six rushed in and slashed them up at close quarters. They swung open the doors to see Benny in nothing but his underwear.

"Goddamnit Benny!" Six shouted, trying to shield his eyes. "Cinder, kill him or don't, it's your choice."

Cinder nodded as she took out her hunting revolver and shot him in the head. "Now where is that coat?" Cinder mumbled as she found it hung up neatly in the closet. Six started to rummage around the room; he found both the Platinum Chip and Benny's special gun, Maria.

"Cinder, dear. Since you were so kind in offering me that amazing coat, I thought you should have this," Six said, handing her Maria.

"Why thank you!" Cinder replied, looking genuinely thankful. "Now let's get that Platinum Chip to Mr. House."

Six nodded, leading Cinder out of the carnage that was strewn across the Tops. When they stepped outside, it was like a breath of fresh air. A man in a top hat and a suit approached them.

"I am Vulpes Inculta, and I am here to offer you and your companion a face-to-face talk with the Caesar. You will not be attacked by our forces so long as you wear these marks," Vulpes said as he handed both Cinder and Six a golden coin.

"Thanks…" Cinder said with an unenthusiastic tone.

"Ave, be seeing you," Vulpes said as he left the strip.

"Well that was… interesting. I think I have a way we could use this to our advantage," Six said as he led Cinder back to the Lucky 38. They moved up to the penthouse to meet up with House.

"Mr. House, I have the Platinum Chip."

"Very good, I'm glad you were able to achieve results. With this, I'll be able to upgrade the securitrons weapons and combat capabilities. Now, I need both of you to go to Caesar's fort. There is a large reserve force of securitrons which will be instrumental in winning this war."

"I understand," Six said, bidding Robert House farewell. The two of them moved on to the presidential suite.

"So, what's your plan?" Cinder asked as she took a seat on the bed.

"I was thinking we could infiltrate Caesar's fort with those marks Vulpes gave us. Then, we assassinate Caesar and fight our way out," Six explained. "But first we'll activate the reserves of securitrons under The Fort. Then we'll kill Caesar," Six finished.

"And how do you think we'll make our escape? From what I've read in the faction archives on the computer, the only way to get in and out of The Fort is by raft," Cinder said, pulling out a map. "We'll be stuck here," she said, pointing at where The Fort was on the map. "Unless we can go back the way we came, or get across Lake Mead and get to shore, we'll be stuck on the Legion's side of Hoover Dam," Cinder said as she laid it out on a table.

Six started to rub his chin in thought as he examined the map. "If we could snatch a raft and get to Camp Golf, then we'll be in the clear. Before we go, I want us to get some supplies and a specific upgrade for myself," Six said.

Cinder looked up at Six. "What upgrade were you thinking of?"

"Monocyte Breeder, although it's quite expensive," Six said as he nervously scratched the back of his neck.

"How expensive?" Cinder asked as she narrowed her eyes at Six.

Six looked away. "Twelve thousand caps…"

"Twelve thousand?! We only have six thousand!" Cinder replied with shock.

"Don't forget about the two thousand we got from House, and the four thousand I found in Benny's room," Six pointed out. "But we'll need more caps for the medical supplies."

"And how do you suppose we'll get them?"

"Well… I got these snow globes, and apparently I can get two thousand each," Six said as he materialized four snowglobes.

"This is a total of… eight thousand!" Cinder said with excitement as she gave Six quite the bear hug. The Courier hugged her back, a warm smile on his face. "I can't believe it. If we live through this, we might be able to start a family," Cinder thought as she enjoyed both the company and warmth of The Courier's embrace. Six went up to the penthouse to exchange the snowglobes while Cinder took a quick rundown of inventory.

As Six returned, the young pyromancer was just finishing up the survey of their equipment. "So, what do we have, and what do we need?" Six asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Seventeen stimpacks, ten med-x, four radaway, three rad-x, five packs of healing powder. For ammunition, we have five thousand rounds of 12.7mm, five hundred rounds of .45-70 govt, nine hundred rounds of 9mm, twenty five plasma grenades, twenty five high-yield explosive grenades, ten incendiary grenades, and twenty pulse grenades."

"Very good, I'll go grab more stimpacks and med-x. Looks like we're good on ammo. Another thing we should get is better armor. We can grab some reinforced combat armor at the Gun Runners stand outside of Freeside," Six replied as he led Cinder, ED-E and Rex down to Old Mormon Fort. The Courier talked to Julie, bartering for the necessary supplies, then moving on to the Gun Runners' booth. Six bought two new sets of reinforced combat armor and reinforced combat helmets.

"Now we look like a bunch of genuine mercenaries!" Six laughed, giving Cinder a hardy slap on the back as she put her combat helmet on. "You ready to go?" Six asked as he slung his mercenary's grenade rifle over his back.

"Of course," Cinder said as a smirk of confidence grew on her face. The two of them headed towards Cottonwood Cove. The journey only took the five remaining hours of daylight, the sun was setting when they descended down the slope. They were stopped by a legionary as they came closer to the cove.

"Halt, wastrel! Don't come any closer or you'll be shot!" the legionary commanded.

"You sure? We got these," Cinder said as she pulled out her mark, showing it to the legionary. He moved aside, letting Six, ED-E, Cinder, and Rex pass. They moved towards the harbor with a confident stride. They got on the raft as the legionary on it began to row towards The Fort. Cinder ran her fingers through Rex's furr as he wagged his tail in enjoyment, giving a happy bark in the pyromancer's direction. The lovable eyebot, ED-E joyfully beeped and booped, talking to Six about the funny things in the Mojave.

"Ha! You said it ED-E! The Mojave really is a strange place," The Courier said with a boisterous laugh, ED-E joining him with some happy beeps.

"We're here," the navigator said, leading the group of four off of his raft. "I'll be waiting here to take you back to Cottonwood Cove once you're done here," he said. Six nodded as he walked into The Fort. The two humans in the group had their weapons taken from them as they walked up the hill as legion children ran up the wooden steps. The doors opened, and they walk up to the command tent. They were told that Rex and ED-E would have to stay outside the tent while Cinder and Six were allowed in.

"Ah, you must be the courier I've been hearing so much about. And who is your compatriot? I have yet to hear any of her exploits. Do tell, girl. Why do you follow this man?" Caesar asked the young pyromancer.

"I follow him because time after time, no matter the cost, he's cared for me. He's even taught me how to do some basic medical procedures," Cinder replied.

"Good. It can be hard to find someone trustworthy these days. Enough about that, there is something that requires your specialty that can be a benefit for the both of us," Caesar said. "There's a bunker that needs to be destroyed. Considering your specialization with explosives, well I don't need to spell it out for you."

"I understand," Six said as he turned to leave.

"Your weapons will be returned to you for this task," Caesar said as Six and Cinder walked out of the tent. They brought Rex and ED-E to the bunker and had their weapons returned to them. They descended into the bunker, their weapons at the ready. They approached a thick, metal door and a terminal near it. Six entered into the terminal, opening up the door. The second they walked through it, the metal door shut behind them as a picture of Robert House appeared on a large monitor in front of them.

"I'm glad you two were able to find the securitron garrison at the legion's main base of operations. All you must do is turn on the power to this bunker. Then you may do what you please with The Fort," Robert House said as the monitor turned off.

"Sounds easy enough, just flip a switch," Six said with a laugh as he opened the door. He walked over to the power switch as Cinder examined that many inactive robots found around the large room. As he flipped the switch, the robots came to life, as did the many securitrons below. "Shit."

"Run!" Cinder shouted as they all bolted towards the door. Six slammed on the button, opening the reinforced metal door. They ran in, then shut the door. "So, when do you want to start shooting up this festering shithole?" Cinder asked with malice in her voice.

"Have patience, Cinder. We need to take out Caesar first, then the rest of this place," he explained as he went up the stairs. Six led the three others out of the bunker and towards the command tent. As they walked up, Cinder looked into a different tent to see none other than Adam Taurus.

"Adam?" Cinder asked as she approached him. He was sitting on a bed with a glazed look in his eyes, as if his soul had left his body. She got closer, calling out to him again. "Adam, are you ok? You don't look too good…"

He looked up at her and slowly shook his head. "I...I can't forgive myself… for what I've done," Adam said as he looked off into the distance. "Why? Why did I do it?" he asked himself.

"A friend of yours?" Six asked.

"No, a previous associate," Cinder replied.

"Is he always that dead in the eyes?" Six quipped.

Cinder shook her head. "No. That's the thing. He always had this furver to him, a fire of determination in him. But now… it looks like that fire was completely doused. He kept on going on about something that he'd done, and how he regretted it. Ever worse, he had this dead look in his eyes," Cinder said with worry. Although they were only associates, she still cared for those who worked alongside her.

"It's called The Mojave Stare. It happens when people have lost all hope, when they have nothing to live for. Hopefully your friend gets over it," Six said as he entered the command tent.

"I heard a rumbling beneath us, can I assume the mission was a success?" Caesar asked with a tempered tone.

"Yes," Six said as he gave Cinder the signal. Both of them leaped forward with their melee weapons for a fight. Six impaled two praetorian guards through the gut with his katana while Cinder slashed two more in the throat with her serrated claws.

Caesar and four more praetorian guards encircled them, their ballistic fists ready for combat. Cinder activated the flamethrower in her robotic arm, sending a wide flame at three of the guards, forcing them five feet back. Six was occupied with Caesar and the remaining guard. Six took a swipe at Caesar, only to have his katana blocked by the guard and get a powerful punch to the stomach. He recoiled from the blow, taking a few steps back and switching to his grenade rifle, firing at Caesar. The explosive missed, hitting his throne instead. The shrapnel imbedded itself into Caesar's back as he groaned in pain. The Courier took the opportunity to take out his guard, stabbing him in the throat with his combat knife. Then, Six felt his back being punched as he crashed onto the ground.

Courier Six screamed in pain as he felt another blow. Cinder finished off the last man with three shots to the back of the head. "Six!" Cinder shouted as she activated the firearm and aimed at Caesar and fired. Caesar made a slow retreat as the pyromancer started a steady advance, getting closer and closer to Six. Once she was close enough, Cinder injected some med-x to numb his pain. He rose to his feet and fired another grenade at Caesar, this time landing

"Get up, we're getting out of here alive," Cinder ordered as she helped Courier Six back to his feet. Then, in an attempt of a sneak attack, Caesar lunged towards Cinder, only for his head to be cut clean off by Six's katana. His head slowly rolled across the dirt floor.

She injected a stimpack into his back as they walked out of the tent, this time having ED-E and Rex to help them with their battle. Six loaded his grenade rifle with an incendiary grenade and fired it at the far cluster of tents, setting a few of them on fire. Cinder watched as the legionaries started to charge their position. She could hear Six loading another grenade as ED-E's combat music played and Rex started to growl. Cinder began to smirk as she brandished her claws at the legionaries who were foolish enough to engage her in hand-to-hand combat. She hacked and slashed, obliterating the incoming forces while Six took them out by the handful as he fired his grenades at pockets of legionaries.

"Get to cover!" Six shouted as he covered Cinder's retreat with a flurry of grenades. She took cover behind a mound of solid stone. The pyromancer looked around, trying to find Adam, only to see he had left his tent and was fleeing the chaos of The Fort with a young child riding on his back.

"We need to get to the rafts!" Cinder shouted over the thunder of gunfire. Six nodded as he fired a few more grenades at the legionaries. They slowly and methodically made their way back to the river's edge as the four of them fought off legionaries and centurions alike. Rex and ED-E moved towards the dock, Adam nowhere to be found.

"What do you think happened to your friend?" Six asked as he grabbed an ore and got on the raft.

"Probably fled, now we need to do the same," Cinder replied as she also grabbed an ore and boarded the raft as the four of them slowly paddled away.

AN: Hello guys and gals, i'm sorry this chapter took so long to get out, but I had finals and needed to study. If you enjoyed, or if there's something that you didn't like, please leave a review! Thanks, and see you all next chapter!


	18. A Semblance Emerges

Ilia Amitola

The young chameleon faunus awoke bright rays of light permeating through the blinds of her window. Ilia shielded her eyes as she blocked the sunrays with her hands with a groan. " _Just two more minutes,"_ she thought as she cuddled up with her thick blankets. Her mind drifted off to a scene of pain and agony in her life. It was the day her parents were died in the dust mine. She was at school, watching the TV as the newsreel was dragged across the screen. Tears began to well up in her eyes as the names of the deceased were shown.

"Ha! Look at those stupid faunus!" One of Ilia's friends scoffed. "They're too stupid for their own good, which is why _we_ need to look after them. Absolutely pathetic!"

Ilia's skin began to turn blue in sadness, only for her group of friends to turn on her immediately.

"Ew! You're a faunus, Ilia?!" the head of the group asked in exasperation.

"Yes, I am. What of it?" Ilia asked as her skin turned from a pale blue to a bright red. She gritted her teeth, throwing a punch right at the girls' agape jaws, breaking their teeth.

"Aaaaaah!" The girls screamed in pain. "You bitch!" the head hussy screeched as she ran off. The image began to distort into that of a familiar house.

" _This house…"_ Ilia thought as she slowly walked through the dwelling, dragging her finger across the dust draped furniture. She looked at her finger to see a thick ball of dust that had collected on it. She flicked it into the trash can as she moved to her parents' bedroom, slowly opening the door so as not to disturb the contents of the bedroom. The young faunus looked around the room, seeing the many momentos that remained. She picked up a silver, dust infused necklace that was lying on the nightstand near the bed. She put it around her neck and grabbed a golden ring infused with a gravity dust crystal, sliding it onto her middle finger. The room began to melt and she opened her eyes to see Blake lying beside her.

"Hmmm," Blake mumbled as she wrapped her arms around her fellow ex-white fang member. " _I could get used to this,"_ Ilia though as she covered them both with the thick blankets as Blake moved closer, resting her head in the crook of Ilia's neck. "So warm…" the cat faunus mumbled as her warm breath tickled the back of Ilia's neck. The two of them were woken up by the sound of a loud explosion from outside the building. Blake shot out of the blankets, grabbing Gambol Shroud as Ilia grabbed her weapon. They put on their power armor and the remainder of their weapons.

"Marcus, what was that?!" Blake asked as Lily and Marcus grabbed their weapons.

"We're under attack and we need to evacuate to a nearby air base in the Vertibird," Marcus explained as he shot five fiends to death. "Get to it, _now_!" Marcus shouted as he led the three of them to the assault aircraft. They took off towards Nellis Airforce Base, with Blake and Ilia manning the two mounted mini guns and Marcus in the forward-facing duel-50mm machine guns as Lily flew the towards the air force base. As they got closer, flak began to explode all around them.

"Lily! We need to get out of the range of those guns!" Marcus advised as Lily moved out of the way, flying the war plane behind a mountain range and out of the sight of the anti-air guns. "We're going to circle around and approach from the north. Then we'll take out the guns, and land. Then we commandeer the base," Marcus explained.

The two girls nodded as they peaked above the mountain tops. They took aim at the hostiles, sending a barrage of bullets at them as missiles and grenades flew at them. Lily ducked and weaved them out of the way as Marcus mowed down the foes. As they circled the base, a B-15 bomber plane came into view.

"Look at that!" Ilia pointed out as she shredded through three heavy units fired their missile launchers at the vertibird. She shot one, making it explode prematurely, causing a chain reaction and killing all three of them in quick succession. Then, another missile collided into the right wing, breaking it off as the vertibird went into a tailspin.

"We're going down!" Lily alerted the rest of the members as a trail of smoke followed them down to the earth. "Alright dearies, I'm going to crash land into the sand, be ready!" Lily asked. The bird crashed into the sand as its occupants were thrown violently from it as they were slowly surrounded by the hostiles. They landed right in front of a bunker-like building. They rushed inside, as Ilia used her weapon to wrap around the door from, tearing it down to prevent the enemies from pursuing them further.

They descended the stairs to find a swarm of mutated fire ants coming straight towards them. Lily unleashed a storm of bullets, hitting one of the many warheads stored in the building, setting of a chain reaction the destroyed the structure of the building as sand began to leak in. The four of them made their escape, climbing out of the roof through the rubble. They were continuously bombarded with explosive weapons fire. " _We need to get out of here or else we'll be shrapnel food,"_ Ilia thought as she took cover and loaded her multiplas rifle and took aim.

The four of them continued to fight, their energy slowly being drained from the continual combat. "We need to push forward!" Marcus shouted over the sound of explosions erupting around them. They nodded and readied their charge. Ilia and Blake took the inner position of the formation while Lily and Marcus took the flank. As they pushed through, Ilia took a high-yield grenade to the right arm and Blake took one to the left leg, downing the black haired beauty. Ilia helped Blake up as they pushed forward into a hanger.

They were surrounded by the hostile attackers in the hanger. The pressure began to build in Ilia's mind, putting more and more mental stress on her. She was at her breaking point. Then she felt an odd sensation all throughout her body as she felt as every hair on her body stood on end.

"Ilia, is everything alright?" Blake asked, as she saw Ilia's face take on a strained look. "Ilia!" Blake shouted. The young chameleon faunus began to slowly began to raise her hand, as the metal weapons followed suit, rising with her hands. "Ilia, have you… unlocked your semblance?" Blake asked as she looked up at her.

"I… don't know…" Ilia responded as she dropped the weapons, breaking them upon impact of the concrete floor. The hostiles were gunned down by Marcus and Lily as they moved into a large storage space. "I think I did!" Ilia shouted with excitement. "I unlocked my semblance!" She pronounced with a look of pure joy on her face. "I can move metal!"

" _That is pretty useful semblance,"_ Blake thought as she reloaded her laser rifle. "We should clear out the rest of this base and start fortifying the area," Blake suggested. The rest of the day was spent doing just that. As they swept the area clean of hostiles, Ilia began to use her semblance, hoping to become better at it through experience.

Once Ilia had returned, she had a strained look on her face. "That was _a lot_ more draining than I thought. Was it always that stressful on the body when you used your semblance, Blake?" the faunus inquired.

"At first it strained my body and I could only use it once or twice a day, but with practice I was able to use it any time I needed to," Blake said as she gave a reassuring smile to Ilia. "I've been thinking about semblances and how we unlock them," Blake continued.

"And?" Ilia asked.

"Well, semblances are unlocked under extreme emotional duress, right?" Ilia nodded. "Then I was thinking about how emotions affect the power of one's semblance. It makes sense too. Often times semblances are unlocked under _negative_ emotions. Since they're negative emotions, they attract the grimm, and so they aren't tested in that manner, but rather only in the field. And here is the perfect place to test this hypothesis; with no grimm around there's no danger in indulging in your negative emotions. We'll start that tomorrow, but you need your sleep," Blake finished as she plopped herself into bed, patting on a spot next to her. She reclined onto the bed as she closed her eyes.

AN: my apologies for the short chapter. I have to admit that the Blake/Ilia chapters are either very easy or very hard to write, which is why they take so much time to write. Also I know that Ilia's semblance is similar to Pyrrha's, all I can say to that is that it is inevitable. I'll try to have her use it in a unique way. As always, thanks for reading and I can guarantee that the next chapter is going to be… shocking.


	19. The Final Punishment

Adam Taurus

As Adam arrived back at the Legate's Camp after failing his second mission, a feeling of uneasiness began to grow in his stomach. He knew by the crossed arms of Lanius and the fact that Vulpes was accompanying him meant something was wrong, but he had no idea _what_ it was.

"Adam, I've heard from The Caesar that you failed to assassinate President Kimball. I'm _very_ disappointed in you, this will not go unpunished," Lanius said with a stern tone as Adam was approached by Vulpes.

"Due to your failure you will be returning to Caesar's Fort to await punishment. The boy will remain here under Lanius' tutelage until you return, is that understood?" Vulpes asked, receiving a nod from Adam. "Then let's be on our way. It's never a good idea to keep The Caesar waiting," Vulpes advised as Adam followed him along, being flanked by two frumentarii on each side. As they made their way to the raft to the Fort, Adam's mind began to wander.

An image of a young Blake Belladonna and a youthful Adam Taurus by her side. They were both smiling as Kali took a picture of the two of them. "You two are so cute together!" Kali said with excitement.

"Thanks mom…" Blake said with an embarrassed blush.

"No problem, dear! I'll bring you each a copy of the picture once its ready."

"Thanks Mrs. Belladonna," a young Adam said as he walked through the capital city of Menagerie with Blake. "Blake, what do you think of humans?" Adam asked as they meandered around the vast array of stalls and shops.

"Well, they aren't all bad, the bad ones need to be taught a lesson," Blake said with clenched fists.

"You shouldn't allow your emotions to overcome you," Adam advised with a smile. "Because if you can't control your emotions, then they will control you," he said as the young bull faunus pulled out some lien and bought two snow cones, giving one to Blake. "What kind of weapon do you think you'll build? I've thought of a sword and a gun-sheath," Adam said with enthusiasm.

"I'm thinking about having a lasso-like rope at the end of my blade," Blake said with a mouthful of shaved ice.

"Interesting concept", Adam said as they walked by a television shop. The two younglings looked into the shop's windows to see a program televising the negotiations after the faunus uprising after the great war. They watched as the image containing them started to dissipate and a familiar voice brought him out of his day-dream.

"We're here, Adam, now let's go," Vulpes said as they walked off of the dock and through the gates. He saw the many people crucified along the way tip to the command tent. Out of his peripheral he saw Brutus' mother on a cross in the middle of the upper encampment behind the command tent. Vulpes led Adam into the tent.

"Adam Taurus," Caesar said with a stern and enraged tone. "You failed your brothers of The Legion by refusing to assassinate President Kimball. I am angry. No. I'm _furious_. Normally I'd have you killed and made an example of. But you are more than just some legionary. You are a walking symbol of The Legion, so you will be spared, but at a price," Caesar said, regaining his composure. "Vulpes, inform him of his punishment."

The head frumentarii approach Adam. "Your punishment will be forced publicly rape the mother of Brutus. She has been caught stealing food from our stores. Consider this her punishment, and your's. Although you failed your second mission, you did complete your first, so you're being let off easy," Vulpes said with a devious smirk on his face. "It will happen later tonight."

A small pit began to grow in Adam's stomach as he heard his punishment. It reminded him of what the most heinous humans did to faunus when they were ambushed by said humans. "And if I refuse?" Adam asked.

"You both die, as well as the boy," Caesar shot back. The pit within Adam's stomach only grew after hearing the response to his question. " _God damn these humans! I can't become the monsters I've promised to destroy!"_ Adam though as the pit continued to grow as he was shown to his tent.

"Wait here until I come to get you," Vulpes said as he left Adam's tent. He felt something in his back pocket. He pulled it out to see that it was the picture from all those years ago. " _I promise Blake, I'll change. For the better,"_ Adam promised to himself as he slept the rest of the day away. By the time Vuples came to get him, the pit in his stomach had grown five times the size. Brutus' mother was still on her cross as the sun began to dip under the horizon. Vulpes ordered Adam to stand beside her as he readied his speech.

"Brothers! Gather around and watch this spectacle of punishment that will befall our very own Adam Taurus, whom i'm sure you have all heard of by now, and Secilia, a slave and a mother. The action for which Adam will be punished for failing to kill President Kimball! And what of the slave? For she was caught stealing from our food reserves to satiate her _own_ hunger. So selfish! So uncaring!" Vulpes preached.

"I was starving! What else was I supposed to do?!" Secilia pleaded. "I was going to save some for when my son came back! You have to believe me! Please!" She begged, trying to reach Adam's heart. He looked away, a predetermined guilt weighing him down, an even heavier weight of shame forbidding him to look her in the eyes.

"Your sins and transgressions will be forgiven in due time," Vulpes reassured her, motioning for Adam to take the position. He did as he was ordered, gritting his teeth.

"I'm so sorry," Adam whispered to her. "It was the only way to save Brutus, I'm so sorry!" Adam hisses in between his tears of shame as he continued to look away from Secilia.

As he began to commit the heinous act, his body took on a mind of its own and his consciousness began to separate from his body.

The next day went by like a leaf in a maelstrom. During the middle of the day, He could have sworn he saw Cinder Fall, but his mind was preoccupied with the shameful act he had committed the night before. The pit within his stomach had grown ten times from before, and his mind was completely overcome with shame as he wallowed in his self-pity.

Suddenly, a loud explosion shook Adam out of his stupor. The Fort erupted in a storm of gunfire. He rose from his seat in his personal tent and grabbed his things to make an escape. " _I need to find Secilia and Brutus and get them out of here!"_ Adam thought as he rushed out of the tent, looking for her. " _If I can find her, I can go over to the Legate's camp and retrieve Brutus, maybe then I won't have to be a slave to these savages."_ Adam found the defiled woman he was in search for being accosted by some legionaries.

"Get away from her!" Adam shouted.

"Come for round two?!" one of the legionaries asked with a laugh. The legionary the had a large piece of shrapnel pierce his skull. His now dead body slammed into the ground next to Secilia. She screamed as a flame of considerable size engulfed her.

"Roll to snuff out the flames!" Adam pleaded.

"Please, just let me die," Secilia pleaded as a stream of tears rolled down her face.

Adam began to feel the pit in his stomach grow even more. " _If I can get to Brutus and save him, I might be able to change for the better,"_ He thought as he fled The Fort. his entire body went numb as he ran towards The Legate's Camp with only one objective in mind: save Brutus.

As he arrived at the camp, he noticed that there were more legionaries there than usual. " _The Legion seem to have a very quick and effective line of communication if the camp is aware of what happened at The Fort within a matter of three hours. This also means that they can maintain control of a force when in a chaotic situation quickly,"_ Adam thought as he reached the outer perimeter. He scanned the area for Brutus but couldn't find him. " _He must be in one of the tents,"_ Adam thought as he scaled down the camp's southern wall. He made his way towards the tents, in search of the boy that he had looked after for the past two weeks.

As he was sneaking around, he heard some legionaries talking to each other. "Yea, the boy's pretty upset about it," one of them said.

"What do you think he'll do to Adam when he gets back?" another asked.

"Probably kill him. Heh, i'd like to see him try," Adam heard the first one chuckle.

" _Brutus knows?! Shit. I'll need to talk him down, then escape with him,"_ Adam thought as he entered Brutus' tent. He saw the boy there, sitting on his cot.

"You! How _dare_ you come here after what you did to my mother!" Brutus shouted as he shot up from his bed, marching towards Adam with a combat knife in his hand. "I should _kill_ you! You know what? I _will_ kill you!" Brutus screamed as he swung the combat knife wildly in Adam's direction.

" _I can't kill him, just disarm him."_ Adam thought as he got ready to counter. Once Brutus was close enough, Adam grabbed his wrist and twisted it, disarming him. Brutus responded with a swift kick to the groin, Adam recoiling form the shock. Brutus used the few seconds afforded to him by his last move to deliver a punch to Adam's throat, stunning him for a few more seconds. Then he swiped Adam off his feet, using his free hand to push him down faster to ground, slamming his head into the ground. Adam countered by grappling onto Brutus' abdomen, pulling him down with him.

The two of them rolled around on the ground, sending a flurry of kicks and punches towards each other. "Dammit boy! Listen to me! We need to get out of here!" Adam pleaded as he blocked an uppercut.

"Why should I after what you did to my mother?!" Brutus shot back, sending a powerful kick at Adam's head.

"I didn't have a choice! If I didn't they would have killed all three of us!" Adam barked as he rose from his spot on the ground. Brutus looked up with tears in his eyes.

"She was my mother…" he said as the tears began to flow from his eyes.

"I know," Adam said with a soothing tone. "But right now we need to leave. Gather your things and we'll go," Adam advised as the boy did as he was told. " _I'll protect you with my life, Brutus,"_ Adam thought as he led Brutus out of the camp.

"So where exactly are we going, Adam?" the boy asked as they traversed the mountains.

"We're going to find the Burned Man. He's ex-legion and I know where to look," Adam said with a confident smile. "We're going to tag along with Happy Trails Caravan. Apparently they know where to find him," Adam said as they reached the caravan.

AN: And that's that! In case you were wondering, yes. The action Adam took was planned from pretty much the begging on this rewrite. He'll begin his redemption once he reaches Joshua Graham. As for the question regarding aura, I tried to incorporate it in one of first five chapters, but it never went anywhere and because of that I decided to leave it out of the fic. Yes, I know that the characters have used their semblances, but I'm going to make a big distinction that will be important going forward. **Semblances can be used even without aura**. I know It may run contrary to the lore of the show, but in order to have the fic overall make sense, Aura will not be required to use a semblance. The only restriction on a semblance will be that the user must be conscious and must be actively activated by the user. It's not an instinct. And if chapter 3 of volume 6 is anything to go by, semblance are a 'semblance' of magic that remains.

As for incorporating more Lore, I'll try my best. Believe it or not, the lore is one of my favorite parts of the Fallout franchise. Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.


	20. Towards the Goal

Cinder Fall

The young pyromancer was panting as she, Six, ED-E and Rex reached the large, intimidating doors of the Lucky 38. The four of them collapsed the second the doors closed behind them. "I never knew that rowing took so much upper-body strength," Cinder groaned.

"Maybe you need to work on your triceps and biceps a bit," Six joked as he received a weak punch to the arm.

"No need to tease your significant other," Cinder shot back as Six helped her to her feet. The two non-human followed them to the elevator as Six pressed the button for the presidential suite. As the elevator rose to the luxurious floor, Cinder took a look up at The Courier's face which displayed a lesser level of exhaustion. She cupped the side of his cheek and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips and smiled as their lips parted. "I'm just so glad that we all got out of there in one piece," Cinder said, Rex giving a bark of confirmation, and ED-E gave a positive beep. When the elevator arrived, Cinder and Six took a hot bath, the hot water rejuvenating them for the rest of the day.

"Cinder, I was wondering if you would like to take a vacation day," Six said.

"And where would we have such a vacation in a place like this?" Cinder questioned as she took a sip of wine.

"Vault 21. It's like a resort. If it was underground. And half of it was filled with concrete," Six said with a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head.

"Sounds like heaven," Cinder said with an eye roll as she took another sip. "What will we do there?"

"We'll just sit back and relax," The Courier said as he got out of the tub, stretching out a hand to help Cinder out of the bath.

"When do we depart?" Cinder asked as she wrapped a towel around her waist and chest.

Six applied some deodorant as he gave his response. "Tonight. After we get some things in order. I'll go up to House and see what needs to be done next in regards to his plans," Six said throwing a package to Cinder.

"What's this?" Cinder asked, looking up at her lover in confusion.

Six smirked as he motioned for her to open it. She did as a look of surprise overtook her face. "I had a friend make some modifications to it so it would be more combat ready," Six said as Cinder took out her old, red dress.

"What type of modification?" Cinder asked as she gave it a good look over.

"The friend added a ballistic weave to the threading, and some armored shoulder pads. There's also a gift for you that you'll get once we head on over to Vault 21," Six said as he yawned. Cinder took a seat on their bed as The Courier took the elevator to the penthouse.

" _Was Adam really at The Fort?"_ Cinder thought as Rex sat on the bed next to her. He gave off a whine of concern as he laid his head on her lap. She started to pet him as her mind wandered off to another subject. That subject being her return to Remnant. " _Should I even return? Ruby and her group are sure to shun me at the very least, considering my actions back in Beacon. If I go back to Salem, I'll get a punishment of some sort. And even that is discounting what Tyrian will do to me for my supposed treachery against his queen."_ Cinder thought with a mental eye-roll. " _But that just begs the question, should I bring Six with me to Remnant? No! He's done so much for me, I shouldn't drag him into my problems. Could he even stand up to Salem? Whatever will come of my return, one thing is certain, I need to create a team to help me survive. I'm sure they'll have my name and face plastered on countless wanted posters by now, so I'll need to go to the underworld of Mistral to assemble the team. Even then, they'll no doubt be a hefty bounty on my head."_

Cinder's mind was snapped out of if its deep thought as the elevator doors opened, revealing Courier Six. "Ready," He said as Cinder took his arm with a smile.

" _I'll worry about the rest of it later, right now it's time to relax,"_ Cinder thought as they made their way to Vault 21.

"Cinder, after our stay at the hotel, would you be up for some enhancements?" Six asked as Cinder hooked her arm around Six's.

"What type of enhancements?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Implants. I know a place where we can get all types of enhancements! We'll need them too, considering the battle to come," Six said with a sigh. "We're going to be fighting for Mr. House in the battle for Hoover Dam."

"Are you under contract?" Cinder asked.

"No, he threatened to kick us out if I didn't comply," Six answered with a nervous laugh. "And I don't want to be sleeping on the streets. As for the implants, there are two I've had my eye on for a while now," The Courier finished.

"What do these implants do?" Cinder asked.

"The subdermal implant makes a person's skin more tough and slightly bullet resistant, while the hyperbreeder increases cell production which help those who have it heal wounds faster," Six explained.

"They seem powerful, how much do they cost?" Cinder asked.

Six scratched his chin in thought. "I'd say to get both of them it would be twenty thousand caps. So for the both of us it would be forty."

Cinder's eyebrows raised when she heard the price. "Forty thousand? Do you really think it'll be worth the price?" Cinder inquired.

"A life is priceless, in other words, yes. I think it will be well worth the price," Six insisted as they arrived at the front desk of Vault 21.

"Good afternoon, Six! Are you and your lady checking in?" a young woman in a blue suit with yellow lining asked.

"Yes Sarah, is the room ready?" Six asked as he gave her the caps.

"Of course, Six!" Sarah said as she led the couple to their hotel room. "I made sure the honeymoon suite was cleaned a few minutes ago by our staff. I put the gift on the bed as well," Sarah said with a wink as they arrived.

Cinder and Six entered the aforementioned suite; the main room was covered in hot pink wallpaper and and paper hearts hanging from the ceiling. There was a box wrapped in a dark red wrapping paper. Cinder walked over and picked it up. "For me?" Cinder asked in a sarcastic manner.

Six nodded as she opened the box to reveal her very own Pip-Boy. She looked up, a thankful smile on her. She gave a warm hug to Six as he returned the gesture. "Let's get to bed," The Courier said as he got ready for bed.

" _Its decided. I'm taking him with me to Remnant,"_ Cinder thought as she inspected the Pip-Boy. She put it on and booted it up. Her own custom body icon lit up, displaying her limbs in segmented parts with her left arm not showing up. Six came back into the room with some sweatpants on. "Six, my prosthetic isn't showing up on the display," Cinder said as he sat down on the bed next to the pyromancer, fiddling with her prosthetic, a small outlet popping out of her robotic arm. Then Six connected the Pip-Boy to the prosthetic.

"Now you'll be able to perform maintenance on your arm should it ever be damaged significantly by using the Pip-Boy to run a diagnostics check. And…" Six said, a smiling growing on his face. "You could even upgrade it if you have the proper materials," Six said as he wrapped his arm around Cinder's shoulders, giving her a tender kiss on the cheek. "But for now we should sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow," Six said as the two of them went to bed. Cinder nestled under Six's arm, providing her a veil of warmth as he draped the blanket over the both of them, the soft, tickling breaths of The Courier tickling her face as they drifted off into a blissful slumber.

Her mind drifted off to a place she had never seen before. It was of a small house in the woods, like a smaller version of her parent's house. The image moved into the house to see a husband, wife and little girl standing together, their faces and bodies distorted. Then, suddenly the house was up in flames and the child was gone while the parents were trying to put out the fire. However the fire continued to grow and grow until it consumed them too and the house became an enormous funeral pyre.

The image shifted to a desert, a young lady around Cinder's age wielding a claymore standing there, facing off against a pack of sand wyrm grimm. She pushed the throttle on her sword's grip as an enormous flame engulfed the blade. She charged forward, the flame going from orange to blue, then eventually to white. As her sword got closer to the sand wyrm, the creature of darkness retreated under the desert sands. It emerged behind her with its armored hide and baring its sharp bone-like teeth at her. As it lunged, she rushed towards it, swinging her blade, a wave of white fire hitting the hide, burning off the armor plating on its belly. The nameless warrior ducked under the sand wyrm's belly, holding the blade above her, its guts and blood spilling over her as it tried in vein to flee its inevitable demise. The rest of the smaller grimm were quickly eliminated in quick succession.

The image began to dissipate as the warrior sheathed her sword. Cinder awoke to a still sleeping Six as she looked over to the clock. " _Still midnight? I guess I should get some more sleep. Wonder what that dream was about,"_ Cinder thought as she went back to bed.

The next morning Cinder woke up to the warm smell of blueberry waffles. She got out of bed and ate her breakfast with Six. "So, what are we doing today?" Cinder asked before taking a bite out of the waffle.

"We're getting those implants I was talking about yesterday, then we're going to visit the Boomers at Nellis Air Force Base to the north. Any other questions?" Six asked as he took a sip of water.

"Just one more, who are the Boomers?" Cinder inquired.

"Xenophobic tribals who have a real hard-on for explosives. It doesn't help that they have a plentiful stash of artillery. Although that's not the reason we're going there. We need their support in the battle for Hoover Dam. Apparently they have a bomber that only _they_ know how to fly and could be a game changer. So what we need to do is gain their favor and get them to ally with House," Six explained. Cinder nodded as she took another bite. "There's only one problem. They blow up anyone or anything that comes within range of their defenses."

"Is there any way for us to get around their defenses?" Cinder asked. "We could use stealth boys to conceal ourselves and walk up to the front gate," the pyromancer suggested.

"That could work, but we should be careful. They might be able to detect us, even if we are able to cloak ourselves," Six warned as he finished his drink. Cinder finished her food and got ready leave, picking up her weapons and armor. As they moved towards the New Vegas Medical Clinic, Cinder thought of the two girls they met at Jacobstown.

" _I wonder if I'll ever meet them again,"_ she thought. The two of them arrived; Six made the order and paid with two solid gold ingots. The procedure was relatively quick, not to mention painless.

"Thanks doctor. I feel invincible already!" Six said with a chuckle, flexing his fingers.

"You're welcome, just don't go getting yourself shot to pieces," Doctor Usanagi warned as Six rolled his eyes. Cinder got up from her seat, testing her reflexes and reaction times. Seeing no problems, she walked out of the operating room to the lobby with Six in close pursuit. As they moved towards the base they faced little resistance, finally reaching the edge of the territory.

Cinder pulled out two stealth boys, giving one to Six as he pulled out a pair binoculars. He looked into the distance, then handed them to her. "I couldn't see a single guard on duty, let me know if you see any. This might be easier than I thought."

Cinder looked through the binoculars, seeing only the chain-linked fence and gate. "Nothing. Could they be waiting to ambush us?" Cinder asked.

Six shook his head. "They already have the best position. They don't _need_ to to ambush anyone because they'll just lob waves of explosives at you until you're blown to bits. This isn't like the Boomers. Lets go," Six said, activating his stealth boy and moving towards the front gate. Cinder activated her's and followed close behind him. They opened the gate without any problems, moving deeper into the base. A horrific smell hit Cinder as she rounded a corner of a hanger, only to find a pile of corpses.

"So that explains it…" Six said, pinching his nose. "They were slaughtered by someone," Six finished, as he scanned their surroundings for the culprits. They moved into the hanger, only to find even more bodies. The two of them heard heavy footsteps coming towards the door. Six and Cinder hid in a nearby closet.

AN: And that's all for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this one, and I'll be working hard on the next one. I'm back in school so expect the chapters to take a bit more time.


	21. Unknown Realization

Blake Belladonna

The black-haired cat faunus awoke from one of the many military cots in the barracks of Nellis Air Force Base. She felt something shift in her bed beside her as she looked down to see what it was. " _This is the second time she's crawled into my bed. I beginning to think she likes more than just my bed sheets"_ Blake though as she gave Ilia a head scratch, the chameleon faunus humming in pleasure.

Then the sound of a large spear suddenly, a loud thunk came from outside. It sounded like something had hit the sand. Peering through a small window, Blake saw a spear jutting out of the sand. Attached to the shaft was a piece of parchment. taking the parchment off of the spear. Her eyes began to widen as she read through the message. Once she finished reading, Blake quickly scanned the area, finding no one around. Ilia walked out of the barracks rubbing her eyes in a drowsy state.

She gave off a large yawn as she approached Blake. "What's the matter?" Ilia asked.

"Adam… he's in this world too…" Blake said, tears of fear starting to well up under her eyes. "But… but…" Blake tried to finish her thought.

Ilia gave her a comforting hug, but Blake continued to shake in fear. However, Blake had not finished reading the message. She forced herself to read further as her fears were alleviated as she finished the message.

Blake stopped shaking as she dropped Adam's letter. "Blake?" Ilia asked, concerned for her friend.

"Adam. I can't believe it…" Blake said as she looked up at the mountains surrounding Nellis Air Force Base. "He's… different. The message was an… apology. And a sincere one at that. He seemed… distraught. I hope he can change for the better," Blake said as she gave off a smile.

"Do you forgive him?" Ilia asked, looking to Blake as she wiped some tears away from her face.

"I… don't know just yet. I'll have my answer the next time we meet face-to-face. Now that you're up, Ilia, it's time to practice with your semblance!" the cat faunus said with a wide smile.

"Fine," Ilia said with a stubborn huff as she followed Blake to the runway where Lily and Marcus were working on repairing the Vertibird and another larger plane on the runway. "What's with the big plane, Marcus?" Blake asked as Marcus welded some metal to the wing of the large plane.

"Apparently it was a bomber used before the Great War. Lily and I think it could be used to decimate any enemies. There are even simulation pods to help train us how to fly it! Where are you two heading off to?" Marcus inquired.

"Just out by the solar panels to train Ilia, we should be back by mid-afternoon," Blake informed them as she and Ilia walked out to the isolated section of the base. There was a pile of small to medium sized scrap metal. "Now focus on moving some of the smaller pieces of metal towards you slowly," Blake coached as Ilia moved her hands out, concentrating on a single piece of shrapnel and slowly floating it towards her. Her hands began to shake as the metal dropped in front of her.

"How can something so small be so heavy?" Ilia asked with a pant.

"It should be expected. You've just unlocked your semblance. It's just as weak as your muscles when you were first born, because of this you'll need to strengthen it like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it will become and the more control you'll have over it," Blake explained as she rubbed her chin in thought.

"So the more I use it the stronger my semblance will be…" Ilia mumbled to herself.

"Make sure to practice many times a day, and to rest your semblance too. If you do that, you'll be a formidable fighter in no time," Blake said with an encouraging tone and a thumbs up.

" _I can't believe Adam actually apologized. The mannerisms of his writing match up with the message I received. It could be a ruse to trick me, but I doubt it,"_ Blake thought as Ilia continued to train. As the sun set the two of them met up with Lily and Marcus.

As the cat faunus drifted off to sleep, an unfamiliar scene began to unfold before her as the image of a young Adam Taurus was being watched by a man in a sleek, white, business suit from afar. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the image began to change into a far more disturbing one than before. It showed a woman with pale white skin and dark red veins, cloaked in a black cape. She was holding Adam off of the ground by his throat, shouting at the White Fang Lieutenant as he clawed at the woman's hand, but with no avail. Blake could hear Adam's last, desperate gasps for air before his body went limp and was dropped by the woman.

Then the woman turned to Blake, revealing her red iris' and black pupils. "Hello there my child. Now, will _you_ resist me too, or will you join me?" the woman asked.

"I'll _never_ join you!" Blake shouted back, eliciting a deep frown from the woman.

"So be it. Another one of your friends will die," she said with absolution as she walked past Blake and pointed at Ilia, raising her other hand as a pool of grimm arms reached out from the black puddle and began to drag Ilia down to the floor, the claws of the grimm arms digging into her skin. Ilia gave off a blood-curdling scream of pain as more and more hands reached for her, the chameleon faunus trying desperately to wriggle herself free from the grasp of darkness.

Blake reached out to Ilia, only for the length between them to expand, as though a sea was growing between them. The woman turned to face Blake with a disappointed frown. "I thought you would have learned by now… that you _can't_ win against me," the woman said before Blake shot up from her bed with a face drenched in sweat.

"Blake?" Ilia asked as she too rose from the bed, wrapping her arms around Blake, trying to get her back in the bed. However the visions in Blake's dreams kept her up. Instead, she got up from the bed as Ilia covered her uncovered bosoms with the blankets as Blake walked up to the window, looking up at the full moon with a few tears in her eyes. "Is everything ok?" Ilia questioned as she gave Blake a hug from behind.

"I-Ilia. I s-s-saw you get…" Blake stopped, not wanting to finish the explanation.

"What happened to me, Blake?" Ilia asked, tightly clutching the blankets in suspense with a worried look on her face.

"Killed. You were killed by this woman who had control over these grimm arms," Blake finished as she broke down in fear, Ilia comforting her friend.

"Don't worry, you're safe. You have Lily, Marcus, and of course me!" Ilia said with reassurance. Blake gave a tight hug to thank Ilia. The two of them held the embrace for a while until the fell asleep in each other's arms.

As the sun rose from the horizon, the two girls woke up, Ilia giving Blake a kiss on the lips, one that Blake returned in kind. Once the two were done, Blake rested her head on Ilia's chest as the White Fang agent combed her fingers through Blake's hair. "You feel safe now?" Ilia asked with a warm chuckle.

"Yea…" Blake said with a comfortable mumble. Ilia smiled as her crush hugged her tighter in a very cute manner.

"While I'd love to be like this forever, I think we should get dressed," Ilia said with a laugh as she got up from the floor with Blake following suit. Once they were fully dressed, they went out to practice with their semblances, Blake using her's as targets for Ilia to practice her aim with her semblance. As morning went to mid-day, the two girls heard voices of a man and woman. Ilia and Blake got Marcus and Lily to accompany them to investigate. The group of four entered the hanger, investigating the room.

Blake activated her semblance to quickly open a cabinet, revealing Courier Six and Cinder hiding in it. With four barrels pointed at them, the pyromancer and courier slowly got out of the cabinet with their hands up.

"What are _you two_ doing here?!" Blake shouted with anger as Six tried to explain himself.

"What are _you_ doing here?! Why are all the Boomers all dead?" Six asked.

"We were flying over their airspace while we got shot down and were forced to fight for our lives," Marcus explained. "Now could you two tell us what you all are doing here?" Marcus asked.

"We were coming here to negotiate an alliance with the Boomers, but since they're all dead that's not an option," Six answered. "However, if you four are willing to help out, I'm sure Mr. House would reward you all handsomely."

"We're not mercenaries," Blake shot at Six as Cinder readied for a powerful retort.

"Don't you want to return to Remnant?" Cinder asked, staring down Blake. "See Yang again? Or maybe the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company? Or hell, why not the whole team and invite Ruby too!" Cinder asked with a devious smirk.

"Blake?! You fought alongside a _Schnee_?! How could you?!" Ilia shouted, clearly distraught by this newfound information.

"Ilia! Calm down, she saying that to get a rise out of you!" Blake shouted back, calming her down momentarily. "As for your question, Cinder, yes. I would like to return to Remnant," Blake answered, giving a vicious glare in Cinder's direction.

"Then it would be in your best interest to ally yourself with Six. He has access to a technology matched only to that of Atlas. Technology that _could_ get us back to our world," Cinder explained.

"Is this true, Courier Six?" Marcus asked.

Six nodded as he continued to explain their situation, giving Cinder a jab to the side via his elbow. "I apologize for my… associate's rude behavior, but yes. I do have access to advanced technology, however to be able to focus all of my efforts on something that can get you all back. In the meantime, I need your superior firepower to eliminate the NCR troops at Hoover Dam and supply cover fire while we attack the Legate's Camp. Can you do that?" Six asked.

"Why should we help you, when your companion killed hundreds of people without remorse. How can we trust you'll hold up your side of the bargain?" Blake asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"You and your companions can stay in The Lucky 38's Presidential Suite," Six said without skipping a beat.

"Give us some time to think it over. In the meantime Marcus and Lily will escort you to some private barracks where you will be under 24/7 surveillance," Blake said, Six giving an accepting nod. Cinder and Six followed the two mutants out of the hanger, leaving Ilia and Blake along together.

"Blake… is it true what that woman said? About you being on a team with a Schnee?" Ilia asked with worry in her voice.

The cat faunus looked Ilia in the eyes before giving her answer. "Yes. However she isn't like her parents. Once she inherits the company, she'll change things," Blake reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What do you think about their proposition?" Blake asked.

"They could be stringing us along, or they could be telling the truth. One thing is clear; The Courier is the leader in their group. When we give our answer, it should be to him. He seems like a reasonable type of man." Blake nodded as the two of them continued their training for the rest of the day. Once the sun dipped under the horizon, their answer was clear. They walked over to where Six and Cinder were being held.

Blake took a seat facing Six. "We've decided to help you with this battle, but we'll be staying here for the time being. We'll need more manpower, which we clearly don't have."

"Alright. I appreciate your choice in this matter," Six said, extending a hand to Blake. She shook it as the pyromancer and courier walked out of the base.

"I have an idea where we could find more manpower for the base, but it's risky," Marcus said. "Once we've fixed the vertibird, we could go to Black Mountain and visit Tabitha," Marcus finished, giving a nervous gulp.

"What's so risky about going there?" Ilia asked.

"The super mutants and nightkin there will probably try and shoot us down just like the Boomers. Not to mention Tabitha's mental instability," Marcus finished, taking a seat on an unoccupied bunk bed.

"I understand," Blake said.

AN: And that's the chapter! One thing that really irked me ever since Monty passed was how the show handled Adam Taurus. He went from a cool and calculated lieutenant of the White Fang that would do what he needed to do to protect his people. Then her was turned into this cringe edge-lord ex-boyfriend. Because of my feelings towards Adam's direction is the reason why I've included Adam in this fic. I want to make him into, not a hero, but an anti-hero as that's as far as I think his character could reasonably progress. As for Ilia, it's clear that when vol 4-5 came around that she was meant to be the side of Adam that could be redeemed, hence the seemingly rushed redemption arc that seemed a bit lackluster in my eyes.

Again, thank you all for reading and see you next chapter!


	22. Welcome to Zion

Adam Taurus

Adam and Brutus gracefully moved along the peaks of the mountains of Zion as the sun began to rise over the horizon. "Do you think we'll be able to gain the Burned Man's favor?" Brutus asked as they slid down a slope into the Valley of Zion.

"We'll just have to wait and see…" Adam said as they ventured forth. In the corner of his eye he saw woman watching them from atop a cliff. " _I'll wait and see what she's doing following us,"_ Adam thought as he trailed close to Brutus, making sure to keep him by his side. As morning turned to mid-day, Adam's female stalker continued to silently pursue them. They turned a corner of a mountain, only to be attacked by two giant black bears. Adam grabbed Brutus and threw him out of danger's way as the bull faunus took a swipe from one of the Yao Guai, blood dripping from the shallow wound. He took a few steps back and unslung his cowboy repeater, aiming at the first beast's head, only for him to to receive a slash on the back from the second creature.

"Adam!" Brutus shouted as Adam was struck once again in the back. He managed to duck to avoid a few more attacks by the two Yao Guai. He fired seven consecutive shots into the front arms of the first, quickly reloading as he moved back. His vision began to blur as the blood loss began to take a toll on his mental focus.

" _I need get Brutus and get out of here, but I can't do that with these damn bears attacking me!"_ Adam thought as he dodged another attack. The injured bear managed to get the jump on him, knocking his cowboy repeater out of his hands and down into the gorge where it was destroyed upon impact. Adam received an uppercut, knocking him out as everything faded to black.

The endless void of black turned into a image of his first time meeting Blake. It was a cold winter night on Solitas, and Adam had received his branding two weeks earlier. No one would play with him, not even the other faunus children. That was when Blake Belladonna walked over to him. "What's your name?" she asked with a smile.

"A-Adam, what's yours?" Adam asked back.

Blake smiled, leading him over to a pastry stand and bought him a sweet treat. "My name is Blake Belladonna!" she said with child-like bravado. "And I'm going to save my people!" she declared, beating her chest.

Adam gave an amused chuckle after hearing Blake out. " _She was so cute back then. So innocent…"_ Adam thought as he continued to watch the scene. Then, suddenly the image changed to the child form of Blake covered in stab wounds and blood.

"Aaaaadam, Wwwhy?" her dying self asked as she reached out to him. He reflexively backed off in fear.

"Why what?!" Adam shouted back as tears of fear began to slowly drip down from his cheeks.

"Why did you _kill me_?" the child Blake asked as she coughed up blood.

"I didn't! I would never kill you!" Adam insisted, however the apparition did not relent as another figure appeared. This one was Brutus' mother, her somehow still living, burnt body wailing at the frightened faunus.

"You will burn in every circle of hell, Adam!" she howled, slowly approaching him. Adam tried to crawl away, but with no success. Brutus' mother got right up in Adam's face as he continued to panic; he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his eyes widened with fear. "Your actions have spoken for your fate! And you will be doomed to eternal damnation!" she screeched. Adam grabbed for Wilt and Blush, but it wasn't there.

"Get away from me! You're dead! You were killed during the attack on The Fort!" Adam reasoned.

"I may have died on that day, but my spirit died the night before, after what you did to me!" she grabbed Adam's arms and started to shake him violently. The image of Brutus' mother began to dissipate and a young human woman about Adam's age with emerald green eyes and long, silk black hair took her place.

"Oh, you're awake!" the woman said with an excited look on her face, the long hair draping down and tickling Adam's nose. "You two almost became bear-chow," the woman said with a playful giggle. "What's your name?"

"Adam."

"And what brought you to Zion?" the woman asked, helping Adam up.

"We're looking for a man called The Burned Man. He was an ex-Legion legate," Adam answered. "What's your name? And what are _you_ doing here?" the bull faunus inquired.

The woman took a wide stance and put her hands on her hips with a wide grin on her face before answering. "The name's Amnia, Amnia Amores-Percussit. As for my reason for being here," She said, quickly aiming her survivalist rifle at Adam's head. "What do you want with The Burned Man?!" she shouted. "That armor you're wearing is Legion, isn't it? You've come here to assassinate him once and for all! You bastards couldn't do it with the White Legs, so you sent a kill team of a young man and a child! Pathetic!" Amnia shouted as she backed up out of the cave they were hiding out in. However, she took one step too far as she started to fall backwards down the canyon. Adam used his semblance to catch up to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back up.

Amnia moved a bit closer to Adam as she looked down to avoid showing him her blushing cheeks. "Thanks…" she murmured.

Adam looked over his shoulder with a tone of concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yea," Amnia said, hiding her now strawberry red face from Adam.

"Are you sure? You're not feeling any pain on your face?" Adam asked, misunderstanding Amnia's reason for burying her head in her hands. "Ok, I'm going to look after Brutus," Adam explained.

"Hey, you didn't tell me why you're looking for Joshua," Amnia said, recovering from her embarrassment.

"Is that his name?" Adam asked, Amnia giving off a nod.

"His full name is Joshua Gramm. I'm his personal assassin. What do you want with him?" the assassin asked.

"I wish to… learn from him. Brutus and I fled from The Legion. Since he has done the same, I thought we could learn from him," Adam answered.

"In that case, I'll lead you two to him," Amnia said with an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"You'd do that for us?" Adam asked.

"Of course I would! Most of the people who I come across try to kill me, so it's nice have some civilized people to talk to who aren't from the Dead Horse tribe," Amnia said. "I… also took a look at your face without your mask… I'm so sorry!" Amnia apologized preemptively.

Adam sighed. "Its fine. You were curious, but next time ask me," Adam said as he woke up Brutus and got him ready.

"I was thinking that since you lost your cowboy repeater, you could have this," she said, handing Adam a lever action rifle. He took it, giving it a good look over, then slung it over his shoulder. "Also, does that sheath for that sword has a trigger?" Amnia asked, crouching down to take a look at it.

"The sword can absorb energy and can release it back at my foes, and the sheath doubles as a semi-automatic rifle. I can shoot the sword out for a quick attack. It's great for combos too, but takes a lot of skill to weild," Adam explained.

"Where did you find it?" Amnia asked, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

"I didn't. I made it myself," Adam corrected, walking out of the cave following Amnia to the main camp of the Dead Horses.

"Wow! That's incredible, how long did it take you to build it?" she asked.

"A few months, first I had to come up with the basic concept of my weapons. Then I had to find the parts for my weapons, and finally I had to assemble them. It's not as hard as you think," Adam said with a matter-of-fact way.

"Yea, I think I'll keep to my trusty survivalist rifle," Amnia said, hugging the modified service rifle. "Hey Adam, how did you get that uh… branding," Amnia asked, only to receive a cold response as Adam stopped in his tracks.

"No, I'm not going to tell you that," Adam said, then he continued to follow her.

"I'm sorry for asking, I was just a bit curious," Amnia replied nervously, twiddling her thumbs with her head down. Then a man wearing a type of tribalistic garb jump out from behind a large boulder at Amnia, wielding two Yao Guai gauntlets.

"Watch out! Adam shouted, as he fired Wilt and Blush, the red-bladed sword temporarily concussing the assailant, then firing three shots into his abdomen. The man started to consume a liquid. Once he finished the mysterious concoction, the man charged strait for Adam as if he hadn't been shot at all. He took his lever action rifle and shot the attacker in the legs, spinning the rifle so that it would be ready to fire another shot.

"Thanks…" Amnia said with a smile.

"No problem. Why did that man attack us?" Adam inquired as he dusted himself off.

"Going by his garb, he must be apart of the Sorrows. They used to be allied with the Dead Horses, but after defeating the mutual enemy that was the White Legs, a schizum broke the two tribes apart, and they've been at war ever since," Amnia explained as they continued onward. "You two should also watch out for the wildlife, such as the Cazadores, Yao Guai, Geckos, and Giant Mantis," Amnia advised as the three of the rounded the bend, revealing a deep valley that led to the Dead Horse camp.

A few locals led them to the thunder cave, where Joshua Graham was. However, Adam began to falter, his legs feeling weak and his vision blurring, Adam fell forwards. Amnia caught him before he hit the ground. He could hear the faint sound of both Brutus and Amnia shouting his name. He blacked out, and when he came to, there Amnia was once again looking over him. However, this time she had a look of concern on her face.

"Adam, what happened?" Amnia asked as Brutus stood behind her, leaning on the wall of the cave.

"It appears he was poisoned by some concentrated dark datura. It's a poison with hallucinogenic properties," a man whose head was wrapped entirely in bandages except around his eyes. "I heard you saved Amnia. Quite impressive if I do say so myself," the man said.

"Who are you?" Adam asked. " _My guess is Joshua Graham, but I should wait for him to respond,"_ Adam thought.

"You're from the Legion, yes? Then you would know me as The Burned Man, but you can call me Joshua," The Burned Man said as he helped Adam to his feet. "Amnia told me everything, so you don't need to explain. But there is one thing I wish to know, why do you seek me out?" Joshua Graham asked.

"I was never a willing actor within Caesar's Legion. But just days before I was able to escape with this boy, Brutus, I was forced to partake in one of the most heinous actions known to man," Adam said, looking down at the ground in shame. "I came here because I heard you were an ex-legate in The Legion. So I thought you could help me dispel my guilt and become a better man," Adam explained.

"Hm. I see. We'll have a lot to work Mr. Taurus, but there is hope for all who enters the land of the lord!" Joshua said with vigor and zeal.

"Oh, lord," Amnia said with a palm to the face. "Don't go scaring him off, Joshua!" Amnia shouted as The Burned Man cleared his throat.

"As for where you'll be staying, I have a perfect place for you two. Amnia! Adam and Brutus will be staying with you for their time here in Zion. I expect you to be welcoming to our new guests," Joshua said.

"Yes sir!" Amnia said with salute and an unbefitting serious look on her face.

"At ease," Joshua said. "Now go, I have to tend to my firearms." Adam and Brutus followed Amnia to a section of the cave where Amnia slept.

"This is where you two will be staying," Amnia said as she was screaming internally with joy.

AN: and that's the chapter! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I created Amnia so that Adam could essentially _get over_ Blake and use her as someone to bring him back to humility. Next up is Six and Cinder, I hope you all are excited!


	23. Almost to the end

Cinder Fall

The burning rays of the sun were beating down on Cinder and Six as the two of them headed west. "So what are we doing here again?" Cinder asked as they reached the red mountains.

"We're meeting the Great Khans and we'll be trying to get an alliance with them, like what we failed to do with the Boomers. Just let me do the talking and we should be fine," Six said, reassuring his female companion. "And if things get messy, we'll make a break for it."

Cinder nodded, as they began to traverse through the valley. Six took the lead, looking out for any ambushes, while Cinder took the rear guard, making sure they weren't being followed. Six stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Cinder asked.

"I heard something, like some wings fluttering," Six answered as he slowly pulled out his grenade rifle, loading a plasma grenade. Cinder took note and pulled out her 12.7 submachine gun and aimed down to the barrel towards the opening of the valley. Just as expected, a thick swarm of cazadores rushed the two of them.

"My god…" Cinder said, the shock of the swarm dropping her guard.

"Cinder! We have to run!" Six shouted, only for the pyromancer to stand still as the swarm got closer. "Cinder! Snap out of it!" Six shouted once more, trying to pull Cinder away. However she was still just standing here, her fear acting as a paralyzing force.

" _Is this how I die? Just another person to die in this world? At least I was able to find someone who cared about me. I just hope Six can get out alive. He deserves to live on. I deserve this, a horrible death for my horrible actions back in Remnant,"_ Cinder thought. Then, Six pushed her to the ground, shielding Cinder from the hundreds of stabs from the Cazadores, each piercing blow with the stingers could be felt as bumps on Cinder's body. She pulled out a stimpack from her pip-boy, stabbing it into Six's body, helping to heal his ever increasing wounds. She took out five more, injecting one after another until the swarm moved on.

"Six, are you alright?" she received no answer, his dull eyes only causing her more concern. "Six!" Cinder shouted, receiving no response.

" _Is he dead? No! No! No! Why?! Why did he have to save me? I have to get him to the Great Khans."_ Cinder thought as she took his pulse.

Cinder gave a sigh of relief as she felt the faint pulse from Six's neck. " _Thank the gods, he's still alive, now I just need to get him to safety. Since he isn't conscious I can't administer the anti-venom the normal way, It looks like I'll have to inject it into his veins,"_ Cinder thought as she materialized a syringe and some anti-venom, inserting some of it into the syringe.

"Now all I need to do is find a vein and inject it," Cinder said out loud to herself as she took his arm, slowly feeling it up and down with her index and middle fingers for some veins. She found one and slowly inserted it, applying the antidote to her companion. "Now let's get you to the Great Khans," Cinder said as she picked up Six and threw him over her shoulder. She grunted and groaned as she made her slow approach to the main camp.

"Say where you are! Don't come any closer!" one of the Great Khans commanded as two more flanked Cinder and the knocked out Six.

"What are you two doing here?" the guard asked, pointing the rifle at Cinder.

"We've come to negotiate an alliance with your people. On the way my companion and I were attacked by a giant swarm of cazadores. I managed to be unscathed, however my partner wasn't so lucky and is unconscious. At the moment, all we need is a place to stay," Cinder explained.

"Alright… come with me," the guard said, leading her to an unoccupied tent where she laid The Courier on one of the mattresses. Cinder took a seat down next to him on the mattress, combing through his hair with her fingers. She felt tired, and decided to take a nap with Six.

Cinder's mind drifted off as she saw an image of Adam in a pure, white trench coat with the previously red rose design on the back remade with a cool blue coloration instead. He also wore metal shoulder pads and knee pads colored light grey. He stood in front of a microphone. He faced a large crowd of teenage faunus in front of the Belladonna residence, giving a speech of sorts.

"Students, this is the dawn of a new era for faunus-kind. The humans have for decades been blessed with the academies, however the faunus have not had an academy of their own. That will change, as in a few months the construction on an academy of our own will be finished. There, you all will all be able to train to become huntsmen and huntresses in service of our people," Adam said as the crowd roared with applause. Cinder watched as Adam left the stage and the short dream dissipated into another one.

The dream took shape as the remnants of Pyrrha's team and team RWBY were walking through the city of Argus. Time was speeding forward as the two teams were accompanied by a young boy, an old woman and man nearing middle age and were flying in an atlesian aircraft. A giant sea-faring grimm emerged from the sea. Before any more of the dream could be seen, Cinder was awoken by the sound of gunfire.

"Cinder! Are you alright?" Six asked as he peeked out of the tent with his katana in one hand and his grenade rifle in the other.

"Yea, I was just a bit tired, that's all. What's going on?" Cinder asked, rubbing her eyes as she activated the semi-auto weapon in her prosthetic.

"The NCR has found the Great Khans' base and is attacking. We need to take out the attacking forces, then we can talk to their leader, but we'll need to act fast. They've already deployed the heavy troopers," Six informed her. Cinder nodded, materializing Maria and loaded it with hollow point rounds. Six fired off three plasma grenades as he ducked into the tent just in time to avoid a hailstorm of bullets.

"What kind of weapons are we facing up against?" Cinder asked as the heavy stomping of the power armor troopers could be heard outside.

"Miniguns, service rifles, and grenades," Six answered as he waited for the heavy troopers to pass their tent. Once they did, Six lunged behind them, piercing the two heavy troopers' necks. He flicked the blade out of their throats, readying for another strike as three standard troopers aimed at Six. Cinder aimed at them, filling them with may holes in the abdomen. Cinder reloaded and Six scouted out their route to the headquarters of the Great Khans.

They moved towards the building, fighting through various foes, dispatching them quickly. After clearing out the NCR troops, Six and Cinder reached the HQ. Then a shot ran out and the rock face hanging over the building was blasted into pieces, crushing the old world building and everyone within it. The two of them looked over to the source of the explosion, which was a large, metal-clad tank accompanied by dozens of NCR Ranger Veterans and even more heavy troopers.

"Holy shit…" Six said, unable to say anything else.

"What the hell is that?!" Cinder asked as the two of them ran for cover behind the rubble.

"They were used in old world wars. They move on treads and have powerful cannons on them. They're called tanks and if the cannon isn't enough, they have a decent amount of armor," Six explained, loading a high-yield grenade.

"Do you think we can destroy it?" Cinder asked as the ground troops advanced on their location.

"There's a chance, but its slim. If we can destroy the armor, then the cockpit will be vulnerable and we could take it out. But what worries me are all those troops. There's just too many for us to take out. I happen to have some spare smoke grenades. We could use them to escape," Six said, pulling out the grenades. Cinder activated her serrated claws as Six put away his grenade rifle, gripping the katana with both hands. Cinder took both of the grenades, throwing one, then the other, creating a smokey escape for the two of them.

Six jumped down, delivering a powerful overhead slash, lodging the blade into the shoulder of a heavy. He pulled it out of the wound, then delivering a deep slash into the heavy's legs. Cinder leapt down onto the back of a veteran ranger, slashing out the back of his neck. She received a hit on her head from the butt of a hunting shotgun. She staggered back, activating the flamer weapon, lighting two heavies and three rangers on fire. She looked over to Six to find him in quite the bind. He was being held in a headlock by one ranger and being bludgeoned by another.

Cinder lunged forward, piercing through the the attacking ranger's armor, while Six slipped out of the hold. He retrieved his katana and stabbed it through the second ranger's head. The two of them noticed that the smoke was starting to fade and quickly made their escape out of the valley. They eventually reached a safe place where they could rest.

"This is bad, _really bad_ ," Six said, continuing his line of thought. "It would safe to assume the NCR has more than one of those tanks and that they knew the Great Khans' numbers were dwindling so they used that attack as a field test. But the most worrying thing is… they could very well use these new tanks in the second battle for Hoover Dam, which would mean House would lose, or at the very least have a far more casualties than he expects, which would be a benefit to both the NCR and Legion," Six explained, a distraught look on his face.

"We need to get out of here before the NCR forces fall back," Cinder stressed, trying to get Six to flee the area, however, he stayed.

"No, we _need_ to be the ones to destroy that tank. The destruction it could bring would steamroll over the entire Mojave. We must!" Six shouted as his fists began to clench tightly around the grip of his katana.

Cinder delivered a powerful punch to Six's face, knocking him to the ground. "Will you get a goddamn grip?!" Cinder shouted, rage building up inside of her. Then, she finally let that rage and anger burst out. "What do you think will happen if we destroy that tank, huh?! They'll make a _better_ tank, a _stronger_ tank, and a _more powerful_ tank. And what do you think will come of a futile self-sacrificial act?! A final, noble stand?!" Cinder shouted as tears began to fall from her eyes as she looked down on Six, continuing her rant. "That's how all fools die! That's how Ozpin died, a _foolish, stupid, and clueless_ man who tried to stop someone whom he both loved and whom cannot be killed! Do you wish to die?! Do you want to be _just another dead waster_?! Answer me dammit!" Cinder shrieked as her tears continued to fall as she grabbed him by the lapel. "You've helped me to become _so_ much better, and _now_ you intend on leaving me all alone in this wasteland to fend for myself?! After all you've done, is _this_ the outcome you desire?" Cinder finished, letting go of Six and dropping to her knees in tears.

Six stayed silent, not knowing what to say to her, simply giving her a tight hug as he attempted to comfort her. Cinder buried her head in his chest as her tears started to subside. "I think we should head back to the Lucky 38 and tell Mr. House about the new development and have some down time, how does that sound?" Six asked with a warm smile.

"Yea…" Cinder said, hiding her face from his sight.

"Alright," Six said with a chuckle as he got up and started to walk with Cinder.

"Six, why did you save me during that cazador swarm?" Cinder asked as they arrived at the gates of Freeside.

"I think you know why," Six replied, receiving a swift kick to the shins. "What was that for?!"

" _That_ was for making me worry about you. And _this_ is for saving my life," Cinder said, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. The two of them walked the rest of the way in silence as they reached the daunting doors of the infamous Lucky 38. Six headed up to the penthouse while Cinder greeted ED-E and Rex as she stayed in the Presidential suite. " _The decision is final, when I return to Remnant, I'm taking Six with me, not to mention ED-E and Rex,"_ Cinder thought as she scratched behind Rex's ear. After about twenty minutes of his absence, Six returned with a tired expression.

"We've got two more missions to do, but for now, lets just rest," Six said, wrapping an arm around Cinder as he collapsed onto the bed. Cinder snuggled up with her male companion as she pulled the covers over them and Rex hopped onto the bed and ED-E stood guard.

Cinder's dream this time was of pure bliss, no haunting memories, no fearful possibilities, only comfort and safety in the arms of the one she loved. In this aura of warmth, Cinder was able to, for the very first time in the Mojave Wasteland, get a good night's sleep. Despite that fact, it felt odd to her, the fact that she didn't have to look over her shoulder in fear of being killed. However, Cinder knew that when she returned to Remnant, she would be under threat from her former master, Salem.

The young pyromancer woke up naturally, stretching her arms out with a wide yawn. She received a warm kiss on the cheek as Six awoke, then fell back asleep as he rested his head in her lap. He loved the softness of her thighs as he drifted off into a deep sleep. Cinder sat there, not wishing to disturb his slumber as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. She watched as his chest rose and fell with the rhythm of his breathing. He began to stir in his sleep as Cinder held him gently, trying to calm him. It seemed to work as he went back into a deep slumber. " _He's so cute when he's asleep,"_ Cinder thought with a smile. After a while Six woke up and the two of them went of there way with their non-human pals tagging along with them.

"So I bet you're wondering where we're going today," Six said. "Well… we're going to blow up a bunker. A Brotherhood of Steel bunker to be exact," Six said.

"Is that supposed to scare me off?" Cinder asked with a smirk.

Six shook his head. "No. I'm saying this to make sure you don't do anything reckless."

Cinder scoffed with a smirk. "And _you haven't_?" Cinder questioned.

Six nervously scratched the back of his head with a nervous chuckle. "It's not that. I'd just like to make sure we get out of this alive. We're talking laser and plasma weaponry along with power armor," Six explained. "They're dangerous, and I doubt they'd be pleased after we blow their door off its hinges and obliterate their home."

"Ok, I get your point," Cinder said.

Cinder nodded as the four of them made their way to Hidden Valley. When they approached it was night time and the valley was masked in a small, isolated sandstorm. They entered one of the many bunkers that littered the valley. The two of them set up camp, setting up a fire, an assortment of mines at the entrance, a trip wire that was rigged up with a bundle of pulse grenades, and a sleeping bag near the fire. The two of them went to bed, ED-E and Rex guarding The Courier and The Pyromancer as they slept. Hours passed as they slept, Rex lying down near the sleeping bag as ED-E circled the fire in boredom.

Suddenly the mines detonated, waking up the to humans and alerting Rex and ED-E. Cinder looked up to see five people in large, metal armor and holding a wide array of energy weapons. "Put your hands above your heads!" one of the men shouted with his gauss rifle aimed at Six's head. As the hostile group moved forward, the leader triggered the tripwire, the pulse grenades detonating. The incoming pulse wave just missing Cinder's prosthetic arm as the Brotherhood Paladins' armor was locked into place.

"I can't move!" another Paladin said with surprise.

"What should we do with them?" Cinder asked as she took out her submachine gun.

"I'll just apply this sedative so we won't have to kill them," Six said as he pulled out five syringes, approaching the Paladins. He carefully inject each of them with the sedative as he lowered them down to the floor so that they wouldn't receive any concussions. "You five don't need to worry, it should wear off in five hours. By then we should be well on our way," Six explained as he led Cinder, ED-E, and Rex to the Brotherhood Bunker. They searched each bunker with meticulous detail, making sure they were not missing anything.

Finally, they found the correct bunker, setting up some C-4 on the door of the bunker. They moved back and Six detonated the explosives, the remnants of the door were nothing but mangled, metal remains which Courier Six and Cinder walked over. They pulled out their weapons, Six taking the front as Cinder peeked out from behind him with her submachine gun poking out. They were confronted by three initiates, only for Cinder to gun them down. The sound of the gunfire attracted the nearby bunker inhabitants. Six fired a pulse grenade, then another to down some more foes. They moved deeper and deeper into the underground fortress, facing more resistance as they continued their mission.

A group of six initiates wielding power fists charge towards Cinder, while five Brotherhood of Steel Knights holding an array of laser weaponry started firing at Courier Six. Cinder ducked and weaved to avoid the powerful strikes from the initiates, their numbers preventing her from striking back as she was focused on dodging as she knew a block could reward her with a broken bone.

However Cinder failed to move her abdomen in time to evade a strike strait to the stomach. She hacked up a few specks of blood, only to receive another impact from a powerfist, but this attack landed on her left leg. Cinder glanced at her pip-boy as it gave her the notification that both her abdomen and left leg were crippled. She activated the flamer and burned them alive, then switching to her claws to finish them off. However, she put too much weight on her left leg, and it faltered as she fell to the cold steel mesh floor. Even more initiates poured into the hallway as Six finished off some other foes.

He ran over to Cinder, picking her up by the shoulders and got to cover. "We _need_ to destroy this place, but how?" Cinder asked as she injected a stimpack into her leg and torso.

"I have an idea…" Six said as he materialized two mini nukes, four blocks of C-4, and a full roll of duct tape. He took two of the blocks and placed them on two sides of one of the mini nukes. Then he wrapped them all up in duct tape, to the point where the three explosive items were entirely encased in tape. Six replicated this process and created another remote detonated mini nuke. "We can make a run to the main computer, set these up, and blow up the bunker, simple as that," Six said. "You up for it?" Six asked; Cinder nodded and got up from her seated position.

"Let's get this over with," Cinder said as they snuck through the bunker, each holding one of the improvised nukes. They finally reached the main room, managing to evade the heavy patrols on the way with use of stealth boys. They approached the mainframe as Six hacked into it.

"There's a self-destruct sequence, but to activate it we'll need two keys," Six said as Cinder revealed two keys, one red and one blue, and placed them in his palm. He checked all the terminals in the room before he activated the self destruct sequence. The two of them ran like hell, not bothering to use their stealth boys, instead outrunning the soon-to-be-dead Brotherhood of Steel members. They made it out just in time, hearing the thunderous explosion behind them.

"Well it looks like we won't need to use these," Cinder said, handing Six the improvised explosive, which he stored in his pip-boy. "Did you get anything from those terminals that you looked over before blowing up the place?" Cinder asked, using Six's shoulder as an armrest and leaning forward, looking at his pip-boy screen.

"Yea. I managed to find the NCR tank depot. It turns out that they were monitoring the NCR's development of tanks. Makes sense, the brotherhood is paranoid about advanced tech and takes it when its not in their possession," Six explained.

"Where is it?" Cinder asked.

"Far up north near Horowitz Farmstead. Apparently they've built their depot in the mountains, and its heavily guarded," Courier Six said. "How do you want to approach this one? We could go in guns blazing or sneak in. Either way, we need to destroy the depot and the tanks with the mini nukes."

"We should do the sneakier option. I don't want to get shot up," Cinder answered. Six nodded and they set off for their final objective for the day. Within hours they reached the mountains, climbing the peaks to gain a better vantage point at which to scope out the NCR Tank Depot.

Cinder took out her binoculars and scouted the area, finding ten Heavy NCR troopers guarding the depot with heavy weapons including miniguns, flamers, and light machine guns. She also noticed the many protectrons and NCR attack dogs. Cinder relayed the information to Six as he formulated their infiltration plan.

"So I'm going to cause a distraction at the front while you sneak through the back. In case there isn't a rear entrance, use these to blow open the wall," Six said, handing Cinder his grenade rifle and some grenades. She watched as he slid down the slope and started lobbing grenades at the defensive positions, drawing the troopers and robots towards Six. Cinder headed towards her position with the improvised mini nukes in her inventory. She found a door ajar, and slowly advanced towards it with caution as she entered the depot. Cinder could hear three distinct voices in the other room.

"But what about these new tanks, huh? Who's to say we won't be replaced with robot by next decade?" A man with a particularly low voiced asked his two comrades.

"Well if you weren't such a shit shot, there wouldn't be a problem," a Slavic sounding woman replied.

"And if you tried harder when it came to memorizing tactics then i'm sure they won't replace you!" A third robotic voiced said.

Cinder aimed her grenade rifle at the three of them, firing three successive shots, all three of the voices screaming out in pain as she pulled out Maria and executed them quickly as she moved on to garage where the tanks were being maintained and produced. She spotted ten mechanics and twenty basic troopers acting as guards to protect the mechanics.

" _I need to take out the troopers and mechanics before I can plant the bombs."_ Cinder rolled out five plasma grenades. Seconds after they exploded, half of the men in the garage were out, while the remaining hostiles opened fire on Cinder's position. She sprayed a blast of fire from her robotic arm, torching two charing troopers to a crisp.

Three more followed with a beyonete charge while the mechanics took out their pistols and the last ten troopers supported with a consistant line of fire, keeping Cinder behind cover. She retalitated with short bursts of submachine gun fire. Hitting two of the charging men, missing the third as he lunged in for a stab. Cinder dodged, parrying the powerful blow with her claws, then countering with a slash to the gut of the unfortunate trooper. He fell to the ground as a rumbling sound came from the depot.

"Whoever you are, you're dead! Tanks aren't the only thing we've been building!" one of the mechanics shouted as a heavy trooper with reinforced armor on the joints and two mini guns mounted on the shoulders and flamers on each arm.

" _Shit. I can't fight that thing. I'll set up the charges on a timed explosion for thirty seconds,"_ Cinder thought as she set the timer. She lobbed one of them towards the cluster of tanks and the other one at the reinforced power armor. Once the second one was in the air Cinder made a break for it as she sprinted towards the exit. The pyromancer locked back as the entire depot went up in nuclear flames. She heard Six walking towards her, his entire body covered in blood.

"What happened to you?" Cinder asked with snicker.

"Apparently I went too overboard on the distraction and got the guards' blood on me. You up for a shower and bath?" The Courier asked.

"Of course, but I'm not touching you until you get that blood cleaned off of you," Cinder retorted as they made their way to the Lucky 38. As they arrived, the sun started to dip under the horizon. Six took a shower, as did Cinder and the two went to bed, resting for the next day ahead.

AN: So yea, I decided to include vehicles like I did in the previous iteration of this fic. You may be wondering _why_ I would include vehicles, and here is my answer: it's only a matter of time. Sooner or later someone who has an interest in old-world vehicles. Also, it's been done before, The Chosen One? That, and it would make the NCR a larger threat to House and the Legion. Now as for the Legion's vehicles (Which I might include, I haven't quite decided that yet) They would have more speedy vehicles like a dune buggy with a mounted minigun or fifty caliber machine gun (the minigun being the heavier of the variants). The Legion vehicles would be made for more of a scouting purpose rather than face-to-face combat whereas the NCR tanks are for frontline combat.


	24. A Place to Belong

**This chapter has a Lemon in it.**

Ilia Amitola

The young chameleon faunus nudged her head, rubbing up against Blake's bust, as the cat faunus' arms wrapped tightly around her head. "Blake… I don't want to get up…" Ilia moaned as she nestled her head in Blake's upper chest.

"To be honest, I don't either," Blake said as she combed through Ilia's hair as she continued her tight grip on her lover. "Did you enjoy last night?" Blake asked, switching the subject.

"Mm," Ilia mumbled as the two of them shared a long and passionate kiss, a bit of saliva connecting their tongues as their lips separated. Blake raised herself up with her upper body, he bare breasts in full view of Ilia, who was quite impressed. She began to eye her voluptuous mammaries as she took one in her hand and began to knead it, Blake giving off a pleasured moan in response. Ilia cupped the second breast, doing the same and receiving hitched gasps.

Her hands gave way as she collapsed onto Ilia, the two of them kissing once more. This time, their tongues wrapped around each other. "Mmmmm…" Blake moaned as Ilia dominated her wither her powerful tongue. Blake began to weaken her grip, and Ilia took full advantage of this. She slowly krept her hand down Blake's tights, finally reaching her now soaked entrance.

"Do you want me, Blake?" Ilia teased with a smirk.

"Yes! I want you! I want you! Blake begged as Ilia obliged her, slipping her middle and index finger into her pussy. Blake squirmed as she began to moan, Ilia using her mouth to suckle on her left breast, and her remaining hand to squeeze and tug on her free nipple. She used all of her power to give a powerful suck on Blake's left nipple, and using her hand to squeeze that same breast, Blake practically screaming in pleasure. She arched her back in ecstasy before falling onto the bed, Ilia finally releasing her from her suckle, making a popping sound, her breast covered in a decent coat of saliva on her breast.

"Do you feel better now?" Ilia asked with a smirk.

"Y-yea…" Blake stammered as her tongue hung out of her mouth and her eyes almost rolled to the back of her head. She grabbed Ilia's head softly, her palms resting on her cheeks. Ilia put her hands on top of Blake's.

"Damn, now _I'm_ in heat," Ilia joked as she laid down next to her lover. Suddenly Ilia felt Blake covering the both of them with her thick, soft blanket over them and her hand going under her panties. "Blake, I was kidd- Aaaaaah!" Ilia moaned in pleasure as Blake fingered her. First it was a slow, methodical pumping motion, but as she continued to finger her White Fang comrade her rhythm got faster and deeper, a continuous stream of pleasured moans emitting from her mouth. Then, Blake stopped. "Awwwwe! I wanted you to finish!" Ilia whined as Blake lowered her head to Ilia's wet pussy.

"Just… enjoy yourself," Blake said with that same lecherous smirk. She opened her mouth and inserted her tongue into Ilia's contracting entrance, she started to pant as her cheeks blushed in a bright shade of red. She could feel her tongue whipping around her snatch as the young chameleon faunus' legs wrapped tightly around Blake's head, not letting her tongue exit her clit. After ten minutes of uninterrupted pleasure, Ilia finally released Blake from her grip. She rubbed Ilia's thighs slowly. "You still haven't finished, huh? Don't worry my love, I'll change that," Blake said as she continued to rub Ilia's inner thighs. Blake quickly took off her pants and Ilia's, pressing their clits together, rubbing them slowly together. In no time at all, the two girls came, and they hugged each other in a loving embrace. Ilia and Blake cuddled for the next few hours in their bed.

"That was nice…" Ilia said, giving Blake a cute peck on the cheek.

"Yea… it was. I never knew you had feelings for me, Ilia. I'm really sorry," Blake apologized.

"Blake, its fine," Ilia said as she played with Blake's hair. "You had other things on your mind. But now things have come to their reasonable conclusion, and we're together and safe," Ilia said as she got her clothes on and got out of bed. Blake quickly followed as they left the building, a waiting Lily and Marcus greeting them.

"Are you two ready?" Marcus asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Ilia answered, the four of them boarding the vertibird and heading towards Black Mountain. The aircraft circled around the peak of the mountain, being careful to keep its distance. Blake peered through a set of binoculars, gathering intel on the supermutant and nightkin, their weapons and positions.

Marcus flew them down to the base of the mountain where they off loaded their equipment as Blake and Ilia put on their power armor and equipped their weapons. Lily followed close behind as Marcus led the group. They approached a shack as a super mutant approached them.

"What are you doing here?" the super mutant asked.

"We're here to have Tabitha join us at Nellis Air Force Base. We've managed to take over the installation and need more manpower," Marcus explained. "What's your name? I've never met a super mutant that can form full sentences in the Mojave."

"I'm Neil, and who are you four?" he asked.

"I'm Marcus, the nightkin is Lily, and the two humans are Blake and Ilia. Do you think we'll be able to talk her out of this insanity streak?" Marcus inquired.

Neil shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend it. She has her little army all over the mountain, and its peak. Not to mention the mountain's pockets of radiation that are lethal to humans. And that army of her's will shoot on sight."

"Ok, then how should we go about talking to her?" Ilia asked.

"You can't. Ever since her mister handy broke she's been held up in the broadcasting building sending out those unintelligible transmissions," Neil replied.

"So do you think there's a way to get through to her?" Blake asked.

"The only way would be to fix that mister handy. That thing should be able to calm Tabitha down long enough to hear you out. You need to act fast, I heard over the radio that she's planning on attacking the human settlement of Novac. If you can't persuade her to stop, you might have to kill her," Neil said, gritting his teeth. "I can help you get passed her guards if you can make it up to the peak."

"Alright, we'll me you up there, is there anything else we should be aware of before we ascend the slope?" Marcus asked.

"Just be careful of the traps they set up at the base," Neil warned as he ran up the mountain. The four of them moved up the mountain, just as a group of super mutant brutes rounded the corner. Ilia took a wave of machine gun fire as she ran to cover. She threw a plasma grenade, dispatching the brutes in a single blast. They moved further up the mountain, Ilia and Blake acting as heavy scouts while Ilia and Marcus supplied the firepower.

"Blake, do you think you'll be able to kill Tabitha?" Ilia asked, as she took cover to avoid another wave of bullets.

"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that," Blake replied as she took aim with her laser rifle. Ilia and Blake snuck their way up to a large iron dome near the peak of Black Mountain. They found Neil waiting for them at the peak. They gave him the signal as he led the nightkin guards away from the broadcasting tower. They took out the super mutant manning the radio tower, and entered the storage house.

The room was filled with clutter. Some of it useful, some of it useless. The two girls scoured the shelves for items that could help them. Then they found it, the mister handy that was lying on a table. Ilia and Blake examined it, trying to find out why it wasn't working. "I think I found it," Blake said as she opened up a maintenance hatch on the torso of the robot, to reveal the many torn wires and damaged mechanisms. "Ilia, can you find me some wire clippers, screwdrivers, duct tape, and wires," Blake asked as Ilia went to grab the needed materials.

Ilia watched as Blake repaired the wires with a delicate touch, quickly restoring the robot to its previous condition. "How did you know all of that?" Ilia asked.

"Remember the raids on the Schnee Dust Company? Well Adam and I would take some of their robots and tinker around with them. After a few months of doing that, I got accustomed to repairing and disassembling robots. The one we just worked on is no different, same basic components and such," Blake explained.

The robot sped out of the building as Blake and Ilia followed it outside. They found a nightkin wearing a blonde wig and large sunglasses. "Rhonda! You're back!" Tabitha said with excitement. "You two…" she said, turning to the two faunus.

"We're so sorry! We just needed to talk with you!" Ilia apologized, trying not to get killed.

"You two… saved Rhonda! Thank you so much!" Tabitha said, giving the girls a tight bear hug.

"Thanks… for the hug, but can you please put us down?" Blake asked under a strained voice.

"Sure, now what can I do for you two?" Tabitha asked as Lily and Marcus walked up the mountain with Neil and the remaining super mutants and nightkin following behind. "Marcus! How did you get here?!"

"It's a long story, Tabitha. We need to talk," Marcus replied. "Jacobstown has been attacked, and we're all that's left," Marcus explained.

"That's awful! What can I do to help?" Tabitha asked.

"I need you to help us find more super mutants and nightkin and bring them to Nellis Airforce Base. Do you know of any other super mutant strongholds?" Marcus asked.

"I have just the thing!" Tabitha said as she went back into the broadcasting building, bringing out a large, rolled up map. "This should help you," Tabitha said as she handed Marcus the map. He unrolled it to reveal three red circles. One was around Jacobstown, the second one was around Black Mountain, and the third was around REPCONN Test Site.

"How did you discover these locations?" Marcus asked.

"I have super mutant runners that give me information of the Mojave and where to find our brothers and sisters. You can use this to build an army even The Master would be proud of!" Tabitha said with excitement.

"Thanks Tabitha, what can I do to repay you?" Marcus asked.

"You don't need to, just build our people a nation to be proud of," Tabitha replied as she walked down the hill with Rhonda in tow. Marcus nodded as he led the the mutants down the slope.

"Neil, I need you to lead them to Nellis Airforce Base," Marcus ordered as Neil agreed, taking the mutant army back to the military installation. "Lily, I want you to accompany them back to Nellis. Blake, Ilia, and I will go to the REPCONN Test Site to recruit the remaining mutants," Marcus explained as they made their way to the vertibird. The three of them boarded the aircraft and flew towards their next destination.

AN: That's that! I hope you all liked the lemon. Personally I really liked Blake and Ilia being together for a few reasons. The first one being that the relationship between Yang and Blake is kinda abusive to Yang, as she has abandonment issues _before_ she met Blake, and with her not giving Yang so much as a note before she left. And the fact that Blake was her _partner_ must have hit even harder. Also, I think the relationship with Sun would have been a bit premature as he hasn't known her as long as Yang has. I don't hold any animosity towards Bumblebee and Black Sun shippers. However, I think Sun and Yang's personality would make for a very interesting dynamic to say the least. And not to mention both of their fighting styles require a lot of brute strength, as such they would make for great gym buddies.

All of that aside, I'm glad you all have been following my fic thus far. Just to let you all know, there will be a Remnant arc which will be its own fic. Also the fic is in the final quarter, so expect there to be a grand finale, as well as an epilogue chapter like the ending slides once you finish Fallout: New Vegas. Granted that chapter will probably extremely shorter, but I plan on making my own custom endings that hope you all will enjoy!


	25. Zion National Park

Adam Taurus

Adam felt something pressing down on him as his eyes slowly opened to reveal a sleeping Amnia sprawled out on top of him. Then he heard a loud, obnoxious snore as she started to stir in her sleep. He tried to lift her off of him, only for her to wrap her arms around Adam's torso. Adam decided to relax, letting the girl rest for the time being. A few hours later, Amnia awoke, smacking her lips with a loud yawn.

"Hello there sleepy head," she said with a sleepy smile as she scratched Adam's head. "Your body is really warm, which is why I decided to cuddle up with you," Amnia finished, getting up from her comfy spot on Adam's body and changing out of her silk nightgown in front of Adam with a lecherous smirk on her face. Very aware of what she was doing, Amnia bent down, displaying her nude body to Adam as she gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Like what you see?" the female survivalist asked.

"Are you comfortable?" Adam asked, unperturbed by Amnia's desperate display.

"Well, when I'm washing my clothes, I'm in the nude. So, yes, I'm quite comfortable. Are _you_?" Amnia asked, the perverted smirk still on her face.

"Well now that you mention it," Adam said as he lifted up Amnia by her sides and lowered her down onto himself much to Amnia's glee. She started to kiss Adam on the lips; much to her surprise, he was quite gentile when they kissed him.

Their lips separated as Amnia began to pant in arousal as she slowly slid her hand under Adam's tunic, feeling his powerful muscles. She moved her head up to his ear, giving it a playful nibble as she used her other hand to caress his cheek softly. "When I saw you, I just thought you were some good-looking guy, but now I realized that you're so much more, Adam," Amnia said as she gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. The bull faunus gently caressed her back, which only aroused the flirtatious woman further. The intensity of the foreplay increased as Amnia started to grind on Adam, caressing his face as he grabbed her hips, guiding her movements.

"Oh Adam! I can't get enough of you!" Amnia shouted in ecstasy, moving her hands back under his shirt, slowly removing it from Adam's torso. She began to give him small kisses moving from his chest down to his now fully pitched tent. She reached for his pole, only for an image of Brutus' mother to flash into his head. He quickly jumped up from his bed roll, his body tense and in a slightly defensive posturing.

"Adam… do you not want me to…" Amnia said with disappointment.

"It's not you, Amnia. You were great; It was… something that happened about a week ago that's… made more apprehensive about doing _that_ ," Adam explained as he sat on the floor.

"What happened?" Amnia asked, sitting down behind him, leaning on him and resting her head on his shoulder, hugging him from behind.

"I don't want to talk about it…" Adam said, looking out in the distance.

"Are you sure? It might make you feel better," Amnia said, trying to coax the bull faunus out of his emotional shell.

"I said I'm fine!" Adam barked back, only to realize what he'd done. " _Shit! I can't lose my calm. I can't move back into how I was with Blake. I need to be better!"_ Adam thought as he felt Amnia's hug tighten and her hiding behind him. "I'm sorry," Adam said as he stood up and grabbed his shirt. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's just that what happened is a bit of a… sensitive subject," Adam said with his head held low. "What is it you see in me? Why do I matter to you?" Adam asked as he lifted his head to face Amnia.

"Well, you saved me, when you could have let me fall. You protected that boy with your life, and although you look to be a brute, you're white gentle when it counts," Amnia said as she put on a cloth tunic, then her armor. "Joshua told me that I was a good judge of character. I didn't believe him, until one day a waster came to our tribe asking for help. I told Joshua that he wasn't to be trusted. Sure enough, he was caught the next day stealing from the food storage. After that, I realized that he was right. Do you know what I see you as?" Amnia asked Adam with a smile on her face.

He shook his head. "What?"

"A misguided man. Your intentions are good, but you've strayed down the wrong path. Because of that, you've become confused and muddled and it shows. But… with good redirection and love, I'm sure you can become a great person, and an even better man," Amnia said, receiving a small smile from Adam. She cupped his cheeks, rubbing them with her thumbs.

Adam placed his hands over hers as they kissed. "Adam, I-I'm…" Amnia said, not able to tell him her feelings, although they were quite obvious.

"You don't need to say a thing, I understand," Adam said as he place a raised index finger to her mouth. "Now, we should head out. I'm sure you're itching to get out there and go on a hunt," Adam said as he grabbed Wilt and Blush, his new lever action rifle, two gladii, and his metal armor.

"Wait!" Amnia shouted, holding her hands out at Adam, telling him to stop. "That armor looks _awful_ on you! You can't go outside in that dreadful thing! Sit down! Sit down!" Amnia shouted with urgency.

"You're acting like a child," Adam snickered.

"Sit down," Amnia ordered as she seated him at a table and ran off into the cave to retrieve something.

" _I wonder what she's getting…"_ Adam thought, only for his question to be answered when she appeared with an armored desert camo trench coat.

"Wear this!" the female survivalist insisted, shoving the armor into Adam's arms. "And we're not going hunting until you do!" Amnia shouted as she crossed her arms. Adam raised his arms in defeat as he put on the trench coat. "Now was that so hard? How does it feel?" Amnia asked as she doted over Adam.

"It's quite nice, feels light on the shoulders and easy to move in," Adam answered as he set off with Amnia leading him. The two of them were confronted by Brutus.

"Where are you two going off to?" the young legion boy asked.

"We're going off on a hunt! Care to join us?" Amnia asked as she extended a hand to the boy.

"Only if you two don't give me a sibling while we're doing it," Brutus shot back.

"You… saw that?!" Amnia said with a shocked face.

"No. I _heard_ it. I was in the same room and I was trying to have an hour more of sleep, but because of you trying to get into Adam's pants, I couldn't," Brutus said bluntly as he gathered his things. Amnia's usually pale skin was now a bright shade of red.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up!" Amnia apologized, chuckling nervously as she led the two males on a hunt. Her demeanor completely changed as they entered the large expanse of Zion National Park. She looked over her shoulder with her survivalist rifle slung over the other, looking back at the guys. "You two ready to hunt some geckos? They may be small fries in the grand scheme of things, but they're easy starters for beginners. Now Brutus, I notice you don't have a rifle of your own, so I got you this varmint rifle for you," Amnia said, handing the boy the firearm. He snatched it from her hands as they went on their way to the gecko nest.

They arrived atop a cliff that overlooked the hive of geckos that swarmed under them. "Now what?" Brutus asked as Adam crouched near the edge, aiming his lever action rifle down at the geckos. Brutus followed suit with his varmint rifle.

"Now what you're gonna wanna aim for is the head, cause-" Amnia said as she aimed down her favorite weapon before being interrupted by Brutus once again.

"Do you think we're stupid? Ah!" Brutus yelped as Adam delivered a smack to the young boy's face, silencing him.

"Don't be so rude, and start hunting," Adam ordered as the legion boy started firing. He hit three geckos as the horde of creatures scattered after the first shot rang out. Adam took out five more as they ran off in different direction. Amnia shot thirteen geckos dead, each of them going to collect their bounties of fresh geckos.

"Next we'll skin them, their hides can be used as rugs, capes, or even armor! But my favorite part is cooking the meat!" Amnia said as a large glob of drool dripped from her open mouth. "You can use the plants to make it taste better, or if you're lucky enough, you even use _spices_!" Amnia said, rubbing her hands together in glee as she picked up her prey, slinging the gecko corpses over her shoulder.

She led them to a nearby campsite where she taught the two males how to skin the geckos. "And after you've skinned it, you need to get to the meat off of the bones. Watch me, Adam!" Amnia ordered as she showed them how to do it with a determined look on her face.

"Like this?" Adam asked, repeating the motions taught to him.

"Great!" Amnia replied, giving him two thumbs up with a giddy grin on her face. "And what about you, Brutus?" Amnia asked, leering her head towards the young boy with the same grin on her face.

"I'm doing fine," Brutus retorted as he finished picking off the meat from his kills.

"Wow! You're good at this! Have you ever skinned an animal before?!" the survivalist asked with exasperation.

"No. I'm just a quick learner," Brutus answered as he threw the gecko meat onto the fire, watching it cook. Both Adam and he watched as Amnia seasoned and spiced the meat, an intoxicating aroma drifting around the campfire. The scent, however, wasn't just attracting the three hunters, but also the native wildlife.

The onslaught began as the heavy footsteps of many Yao Guai could be felt behind Adam. He grabbed Wilt and Blush, firing the red-bladed sword at the irradiated black bear, running up to catch it, delivering a final, upward slash to the jugular. He blocked an incoming blow from another Yao Guai with his sword, firing the entire magazine into the beast's belly. As Adam held off the Yao Guai, Brutus was dealing with a swarm of young cazadores.

He loaded his sawed off shotgun with dragon's breath shells as he fired at the leading bugs, burning up the bodies of the horde. He pulled out his 9mm submachine gun, holding it in his free hand and firing it out wildly. Once he was out of ammo, Brutus switched to his machete, sliding under a cazador, slicing it open from the neck to the end of the abdomen.

"They may take our lives… but they'll never take our meat!" Amnia boldly declared with her nostrils flaring. Some giant zion mantii started to approach the campfire, only for them to be crushed under Amnia's steel-soled boots. "You little fuckers will _never_ touch my food again," Amnia sneered as she gave a deadly glare to the dead mantii.

" _By the fang, she's scary when she's hungry,"_ Adam thought as he finished off the last of the black bears. He ran over to assist Brutus with the remaining cazadors, cutting their numbers down quicker then cutting through melting butter. He ducked and weaved, spinning his sword to shred the flanking insects while firing incendiary rounds from his lever action rifle. The action subsided minutes later as the hostile creatures were eliminated. The three of them cleaned up the battlefield, then sat down and ate their cooked gecko as the sun began to set.

As he ate, Adam looked back on his time in the Mojave Wasteland. He had been captured by the Legion, fought for them in order to survive, met Brutus, and was able to finally escape when the Fort burned down. " _Was that really Cinder I saw back at the Fort? And who was that with her?"_ Adam thought as he ate in silence. " _I must be this courier I've been hearing so much about, which reminds me…"_ Adam thought as he looked up to see Amnia ravaging her steak.

"What have you heard about this courier?" Adam asked.

"You wanna know about this Courier Six guy?" Amnia asked, taking a look up from her meal. Adam nodded as he continued to eat. "Well… there's a lot to tell, but I'll keep it short. He came around these parts about a month and a half ago. Joshua and him met up, and Six did all that he could for Zion. The Courier fought off the White Legs, tried to establish peace between the Dead Horses and Sorrows, which you can see didn't last. But those were only his actions _in_ Zion. His feats are far greater when you look at what he accomplished in the Mojave," Amnia said with admiration in her voice.

"From the information I was able to gather on him during my time in Caesar's Legion, he used to be an undercover courier for the Legion. When he was last heard from, he infiltrated the NCR, carrying a package. The last message he sent to the Legion was from our contact in Hopewell, which we lost contact with days later. Apparently, he was an absolute monster on the battlefield, ripping through his enemies like melting ice. He gained the moniker 'The Legion's Shredder'. But after the Hopewell message he went dark, and we never heard from him again, or so we thought," the survivalist explained.

"Do you think he'd attack the Fort?" Adam asked as he finished his dinner.

"Its possible. If anyone would be capable of it, its him. But I'm getting off topic. It was months later that we heard of a man who led an attack on the powder gangers, fending them off with little to no casualties. _Then_ the convicts harassing Primm were taken care of and the town even got a new sheriff. Then we got our confirmation when Six encountered Vulpes Inculta in the now ruined town of Nipton. Be it from some old memory, or sheer ignorance, he didn't kill the frumentarii. I've never seen Vulpes so excited; he rushed to Caesar like a bullet to tell him the news. From there the Legion's been keeping watch on him, from his meeting an NCR sniper in Novac, to his heroics at Boulder City. That's around the time I fled the Legion and ran to Zion."

Adam rubbed his chin in thought. "He seems like quite the warrior."

"If you ever get the chance, I'd recommend you pass up the opportunity to fight him. I've only fought him once, and I barely escaped with my life. But…"

"But what?" Adam asked.

"I don't think he's the same guy. I mean his physicality, yea its him, but his mind has been altered in some way. Adam, do you know what supposedly happened to him?" Amnia asked as her face turned to a serious posture.

"No."

"He was shot twice in the head at point blank range," Amnia answered. Adam's jaw was agape with disbelief. "I know it sounds impossible, but that's what I heard, hell, when I met him here, he even showed me the scars," Amnia sighed. "Now, since I've told you all this info, you should tell me something about _you_!" Adam obliged as he told her of his time in the White Fang, from his humble beginnings, to his inevitable downfall, as they walked back to the Dead Horses HQ.

"That was quite the story, Adam," Amnia said, gently wrapping her arms around him as the two of them went to bed, Amnia giving him a kiss goodnight as Brutus went to another room.

"Adam," Amnia whispered, thinking he was asleep. "I want to help you, so please let me," she whispered before falling asleep in his arms. " _I have to admit, she can be really cute when she's not all energetic."_ Adam thought as he felt the soft, tickling breathing of the buxom beauty cuddled up to him. He pulled her close as she began to stir, softly holding her head close to his heart, the female survivalist tightening her grip on his body.

"I never knew you liked me _that_ much," Adam joked as her cheeks turned bright red.

She buried her face in his chest in embarrassment. "You heard me?" she whispered.

"Maybe…" Adam teased, kissing her on the forehead, which further flustered her. "I let you, tomorrow," Adam said as he fell into a deep sleep, leaving the female assassin to wallow in her infatuation.

AN: I hope you all liked the chapter! I managed to finish in time for Valentines Day! I'm planning on finishing the fic within 30-35 chapters, also I have a surprise for you all at the end.


	26. Sexualize, Strategize

**There's gonna be another lemon this chapter as a Valentines day treat ;)**

Cinder Fall

The elegant pyromancer awoke to a messy head of hair, and the warm arm of Courier Six acting as a shield against any threats that might have been lurking in the shadows of the well-secured Lucky 38. As she rose from the bed, Six's limp arm slid off her back, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She stretched her naked form with a tired yawn, Rex's head popping up as he heard the noise. Cinder put on her leisurely clothing as she made herself some breakfast, the aroma rousing Six from his slumber.

"Cinder? Is that you?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen, wearing nothing but his boxers.

"Who else would it be?" Cinder quipped back as she finished baking some french toast. The two of them ate breakfast as they listened to the radio as Mr. New Vegas told them the weekly news.

"Is something on your mind, dear?" The Courier asked as finished his toast.

"Yes. When I head back to my world, I want to take you with me," Cinder answered. "I'm sure you'd like it more than this world," Cinder justified.

"Oh would I?" Six flirted.

"Do you mean to tell me you _wouldn't_ like fresh, delicious food on the daily?" Cinder jabbed back.

"Please, do go on!" Six chuckled.

"And it's not just the food! Oh the things you will see when you come to Remnant! They're even be… working vehicles!" Cinder boasted as she propped her hands on her hips.

"So what you're saying is, we won't have to walk everywhere?" Six asked with disbelief.

"Yes! And even better, most people won't try to kill you!" Cinder said with exasperation.

"My, my! Your world sounds quite appealing, I think I'll take you up on your offer," Six decided as the two of them bursted into uproarious laughter.

"It feels good to be able to laugh once in a while," Six said as he wiped away his tears of joy.

"I can't remember how long it was since I was able to laugh," Cinder chuckled as she got up from her chair. "I hate to cut this fun short, but there are some things you should know before we arrive back in my world," Cinder said, shifting back to her serious tone.

"Go ahead."

"The entire world will be looking for me. Not to mention, there's a group of young huntresses and huntsmen who, if they see me, will probably try to kill me. When we arrive, we'll have to watch our backs at every turn. The worst part is, my previous master, Salem, wants to have the entire world under her heel, and the only people who have _any_ chance to beat her are the people who want me dead," Cinder said with a grief stricken face. She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder as Six gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry, I'll be with you until the end, and that's a promise," Six said as he gave her a hug. Tears began to fall from Cinder's eyes as Six continued his warm embrace. "Thanks… you don't know how much that means to me," the pyromancer murmured as she continued to weep. Six rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. " _It feels like I'm back at home. He makes me feel so… safe."_ Cinder finished and cupped Six's cheeks and kissed him as thanks.

"So what are we doing today?" Cinder asked.

"Nothing. We've done all we can, at this point all we can do is wait for Blake and Ilia's reply. In the meantime, we can relax. So enjoy yourself!" Six said as he took a seat on a couch.

Cinder began to get a familiar feeling as she slowly approached the seated courier as he laid on the couch. She sat down in his lap, making sure to shift multiple times, trying to arouse his member, which seemed to be working. She felt his hands move to her hips as a lecherous smile formed on her face. She gave off a suggestive moan as Six's grip moved up her loose, silk shirt to her braless breasts.

She felt him squeeze them tightly as his legs wrapped around her's. Six widened his legs, Cinder following suit, her slutty pants only helping to arouse The Courier's now fully erect member which was now rubbing up against Cinder's extremely tight silk leggings. He continued to knead her breasts, not relenting as she moaned even louder in pleasure. "You like that, Cinder?" Six asked before he bent her over the coffee table. She gripped the edge as he tore off his pants, along with hers.

"Yes," Cinder replied with her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she took heavy, laborious breaths.

"Good. Now enjoy your big present," Six said as he rammed his large, throbbing rod into her cunt. She twitched in pleasure as she felt the all too familiar feeling of Six rubbing inside of her. He continued to play with her breasts, but started to rub her nipples between his fingers as she gave off another erotic moan. Cinder backed up into Six's pelvis, trying to get every inch she could. She looked behind her, trying to raise herself, however the momentum of the force of his thrusts kept her in the doggystyle position.

"More! More!" Cinder begged as her nipples began to harden as Six pulled on them, receiving more moans from the seductress in heat. Then, with one fluid motion, Six pulled her off of his dick, threw her onto the couch on her back, and continued to drill her well-lubricated pussy. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head as the pleasure was just too much.

"Aaaaaaah! Please! Fuck me more! Fuck me harder!" Cinder begged as Six teased her with the tip of his pole.

"You're gonna have to patient," Six said as he continued to tease her clit, leaning in to start kissing her, her tongue continuing to hang out at the side of her mouth. "You've been a dirty girl, haven't you?" Six asked as he inserted just the tip of his meat into her.

"Yes! I have!" Cinder moaned as Six wrapped his arms around her, plunging his cock into her as she gave off a slutty moan. "Mmmmmm!" Six kept one hand on the back of her head, keeping her in the kiss. Her mind was going crazy as Six's rod moved within her womb. She gave a tight embrace to Six as she slowly regained control over her tongue and got in back in her mouth. She felt his remaining hand move from her back to her ass, giving it a hard slap. She yelped as Six pulled back from the kiss, giving her a horney smirk.

"You need to take your punishment like a good gal, understand?" Six asked as started to french kiss her. She felt his powerful sledgehammer of a cock pound into her womb over and over again as his tongue wrapped it around her's.

"I don't think I can hold it any longer, honey!" Cinder moaned, Six giving her another slap on the ass. Her waist gave off a twitch, which helped Six deliver his first load. The slutty pyromancer could feel her womb being filled with Six's seed as her legs went limp and her mind went numb.

"Siiiiiiiix," Cinder moaned, still clinging onto him, her grip slowly giving way. "I love you soooooo much," She said before slipping off his still firmly erect phallus and onto the couch.

"I love you too, babe," Six said as he picked her up and took her to their room, carrying her bridal style. He threw her onto the bed, passionately kissing her on the lips as _she_ became the one who forced the kiss to continue, her weak tongue no match for Six's muscle ridden one as he made her submit to him. "You're so cute when we fuck, especially when I'm inside of you," Six whispered into her ear as he lifted her back onto his cock.

"Hhnnnnuh!" Cinder moaned, slumping forward onto Six as he moved inside of her, weakening her resolve, and building her arousal at the same time. Cinder tightly gripped the back of Six's head, leading him to her breasts. He began to suckle on them as she moaned in pleasure as his tongue swirled around her nipples as he sucked them up to his mouth. Her hitched breath began to intensify into quick, erotic, slutty moans as Six sped up his thrusting. "I'm gonna… I'm gonna… I'm gonna… cum!" Cinder moaned.

"Not yet!" Six retorted as he slowed his thrusts. "You'll cum when I'm ready for you to cum, do you understand?" Six asked as Cinder nodded her head. "Good girl," Six said, an audible pop as his tongue licked the tips of her nipples to continue to arouse the desperate temptress to an unbearable amount.

"I can't hold it, honey! I'm gonna cum, I can't hold it!" Cinder begged, only to receive her favorite fast thrusting.

"If you can't hold it, I'm going to have to punish you!" Six warned, but alas, she couldn't hold it as the flood gates of pleasure opened up as she gave off a loud, final moan. Cinder went stiff as she continued to cum, only for her to feel another stream of semen shooting into her womb. However her womb was at max capacity, and the excess cum slowly leaked out of her quivering pussy.

"H-how are you s-still h-hard?" Cinder asked as she could still feel his erect rod rubbing around inside of her.

"Remember, Cinder, you came too early, so now it's time for your punishment," Six whispered into her ear as he laid her on her chest. She could feel his hands massaging her ass cheeks as he pulled out of her tightening cunt. She came once more as even more cum poured out of her shaking entrance.

The hot pyromancer loosely gripped the bed sheets as she felt his massage her back. "You call this punishment, Six? Its quite nice," Cinder quipped.

"Who told you the punishment started?" Six asked as he moved to her ass, squeezing her rear as she gave off a horny moan and her grip tightened on the sheets.

" _Now_ it begins," Six said as he rammed his large, throbbing cock into her asshole as she gave a cute yelp. He heard her bite the blanket as she moaned with every movement he made, her sexual conscious taking over as her hips synced with his, her body trying to be spared from the unrelenting pleasure that was sure to come.

"I'm sorry, honey! I tried my best!" Cinder begged in between her slutty pants as her mind raced and her eyes shot to the back of her head and her tongue once again hung out of her mouth with excess eroticism, her plump ass being the target of Six.

"I know you did, but you still failed, and you need to get better. So in a way, I'm helping you," Six said as he grabbed her hips, sharply dragging her ass towards him as his entire cock wriggled up her anus, taking the anal virginity of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She felt a third and final full load fill her asshole as he slowly pulled out with his cock finally soft and limp.

Six fell onto the soft a fluffy blankets as both he and Cinder cuddled and eventually took a long siesta. They awoke three hours later, and took a shower and bath together. As they dried off, Cinder asked Six a question.

"Are there any other possible enemies that we could face in the battle for Hoover Dam?" She asked as she dried off her hair with a blowdryer.

"Yea, Legate Lanius. He's Caesar's right hand man, and he's a monster of a man at around six feet, ten inches. That, and he wields a giant bumper sword called, The Blade of the East," Six answered as he wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbing another to dry his upper body.

"I see. What's the plan if we encounter him?" Cinder inquired as she finished drying off, and wrapped a crimson red bathrobe around herself.

"We'll have to fight him, but I'll see if we can talk him out of it first. If we can't, then we fight. As for the Dam, we'll have to fight through both NCR and Legion forces, activate the securitrons housed within the dam. With the reinforcements, we should take the dam no problem."

Cinder nodded. "I understand. Is there anything else I should know about, dear?" she asked.

"No, that's all."

AN: Hey there! I thought I would give you guys a nice valentines day lemon, this will also act as the proper Cinder/Six chapter. I only have about one and a half cycles until I'm finished. Just to let you guys know, I intend to have Six go on my favorite DLC, and because of that the Epilogue will come after the extra cycle. Then, the next part of this tremendous journey called Sand, Blood, and Fire can take place. I'll have _a lot_ of stuff to make consistent within the world, and I also have some stuff I'd like to add, like grimm, dust types, etc.


	27. Come Fly with Me

Blake Belladonna

The raven haired cat faunus felt the rushing wind whip her cheeks as she looked out of the bay doors of the vertibird as it flew towards REPCONN Test Site with the utmost haste. The landscape under her rushed by as they neared their destination, high hills and the rolling desert plain passed them by. Blake looked towards the horizon to see their destination.

"Is that… a rocket?" Ilia asked as she stood next to Blake on the transport.

Blake shrugged as the vertibird reach the test site. "Its possible. Marcus, what intel do we have on this place?"

"All we know is that there are two factions, a group of non-feral ghouls and a group of nightkin, that's it. Since there aren't any outside the complex, so they must all be inside," Marcus reasoned.

"Wait! I see some people outside! But… they seem… different," Ilia said with hesitation.

"What do they look like? Are they skinny and looked starved?" Marcus asked.

"Why are you asking that?" Ilia asked with concern.

"Because they might be feral," he replied, as he made another circle around the area, looking for a good place to land. "If they are, then they'll attack you on sight, so be careful," Marcus explained.

Ilia and Blake looked at each other as they put their helmets on and grabbed their respective energy rifles. They hopped out of the helicopter and down near the entrance of the building, their heavy metal armor making a loud thud as the steel boots slammed into the concrete. Every feral ghoul around the facility turned towards the two girls and charged.

"Here we go again…" Ilia said with an eye-roll as they began firing into the crowd. The two of them rushed into the building, slamming the door shut as the remaining ghouls scratched at the other side of the door. They heard the speaker crackle on as a voice addressed them.

"You two! Come up to the third level, if you help us, we'll reward you," the voice on the other end pleaded.

Ilia turned to Blake with an eyebrow raised. "What do you think? They sound like they need the help."

Blake rubbed her chin with a focused gaze. "We should split up. I'll go meet the people over the speaker. In the meantime, you should check out the basement," Blake said as she walked up some stairs. Ilia moved into the basement, hearing heavy footsteps as she got closer to the door. However, the door was locked, and would only be able to be opened with a key.

"Hey, Blake, the door's locked," Ilia said over their shared com system.

"Ok, Ilia. I've made contact with the ghouls, they gave me a key. They told me there are some _monsters_ in the basement. I'm assuming those are our nightkin," Blake answered, as she walked down to her with key in hand. They slowly unlocked the door together, their weapons at the ready. The heavy footsteps got closer, and the two girls took cover behind the door frame, and activated their stealth boys. Their bodies were cloaked in reflective light as they moved throughout the basement's halls.

Ilia took the lead as she sauntered forward, bumping into a large, unseen figure. "What was that?!" the figure shouted, as Ilia clamped her hands over her mouth as her eyes widened.

" _I need to distract this thing!"_ Blake thought as she found a tin can lying on the ground. She picked it up, and threw it behind her. The large, invisible figure moved towards the source of the noise. Ilia continued down the hall as Blake realized something. " _That must have been one of the many nightkin in here,"_ Blake thought, as she took the lead. " _We need to find their leader."_ The two girls moved further down the basement in look for the nightkins' leader.

Within minutes, they found it. There was a single, uncloaked nightkin stand behind a desk with a brahmin skull sitting on top of a coffee maker. It was just at this time that their stealth boys wore off.

"What are you two doing here?!" the nightkin demanded.

"We're here to recruit you and your soldiers for a mutant army we're assembling," Blake answered.

"You want _my_ flock?!" the nightkin asked with exasperation.

"If you cooperate, you can lead them yourself," Ilia said, trying to reassure him.

The nightkin rubbed his chin with his enormous fingers. "Hmmm. I'll listen, my name's Davison, what's yours?"

"This is Ilia, and my name is Blake. We are going to be fighting at Hoover Dam for Mr. House. Your flock will be used as an infiltration force to eliminate the NCR forces stationed there," Blake explained.

"We will follow you, on one condition. We. Want. Stealth. Boys!" Davison shouted, only for him to turn to the brahmin skull. "Antler?! Why are you saying that?! Ok. Ok. I shall obey your command!" Davison said, as he turned back to face the girls.

"Davison… is everything ok?" Ilia asked.

"Yes. Yes. He told me to leave him here, and to take my flock with you two back to the air base," Davison, answered.

"He?" Blake asked.

"Why, I'm talking about Antler, of course!" Davison answered. "He is the one who has given me and my flock all the answers we've needed! But now he has given us our final answered to the question: where is our salvation? The answer was: with those girls! So we will follow you!" Davison proclaimed as he shook the hands of both Ilia and Blake. He called his flock, and followed Ilia back to Nellis as Blake went back to Jason Bright.

"Ah, welcome back, Blake. I believe the monsters in the basement have been taken care of?" The head glowing one asked.

Blake smiled as she nodded. "Yes, they're out of the facility. So what else do you need me to help you with?"

"We'll need you to talk with Chris Haversam. Luckily, we've managed to get all of the parts we need. However, Chris still needs help fixing up the computers on board the rockets," Jason explained.

"You must be Blake, follow me," Chris said as he led Blake down to the sewer observatory. "These are the rockets, you'll be helping me with the on board navigation," Chris explained.

"Circuitry, or an overall overhaul of the hardware?" Blake asked as they boarded the first ship and began examining the neglected spacecraft.

"Just the circuitry, can you handle that, smoothskin?" Chris snapped at Blake.

"Yea… no need to be so rude," Blake shot back.

Chris rolled his eyes and he handed Blake some electrical tape. "Well, smooth skin, when you're as persecuted as my people, you aren't so polite to those who've oppressed you!"

"You don't know _my_ life!" Blake shouted as she poked her head out from maintenance panel. " _My_ people have been oppressed from the start!" Blake snapped as she poked Chris in the chest. "And if you want _my_ help, then you'll need to respect me as a person!" Blake finished as she got back to work.

"And by the way, Chris, you're not a ghoul! Look at your skin!" Blake shot.

"How dare you!"

"Its true, Chris. Just look at the way they've used you," Blake said with pity in her voice.

"You're telling the truth, aren't you?" Chris asked, doubt plaguing his mind.

"Yea. I hate to say this, but I think they're just using you for your mechanical skills."

"I understand what you mean, what do you think I should do?" he asked.

Blake sighed. "You should help them, the move on with your life," The young faunus replied.

"Alright, now let's finish up with these rockets," Chris said as they worked through the rest of the day. The two of them went on their separate ways as Blake went up to the observation post outside. As the she watched the dome recede, Blake noticed something blinking on the control panel.

She rushed over to the panel, fearing the worst. " _No… by the looks of these configurations… their rockets will crash! I'll see if there's a way to redirect them somewhere safer,"_ Blake thought as she fixed the trajectory of the flight path. As she slumped down onto the control panel in exhaustion, the rockets shot off into the sky towards the north east. Blake hitched a ride in the vertibird back to Nellis. However, when she arrived, there was a purplexing sight. Jason Bright and his followers were there at Nellis Air Force Base talking to Lily and Ilia.

"Ah! Blake, I'm so glad you could reach enlightenment with us to the holy land!" Jason said with a wide smile on his face.

"Yea… me too. So, are your followers going to settle here?" Blake asked, nervously scratching the back of her head.

"Yes. We will do all we can to assist our super mutant cousins, for they are also blessed with Adam's rays. We won't be fighting, instead we'll be helping behind the lines with medical treatment," Jason explained. "My followers will be setting up medical tents near the hangers."

Jason and Blake went their separate ways. The cat faunus reached Ilia and the two of them walked over to a makeshift comms station. "Are you ready to send the message?" Ilia asked, Blake giving her a nod. Ilia turned on the radio, holding the mic up to her as she sent out a broadcast to the Lucky 38 frequency that Six had given her.

"So now what?" Ilia asked as she got up from the chair.

"Now, we wait for our call to battle. In the meantime, we should help out with training our troops," Blake recommended as Ilia obliged. Blake instructed the super mutants how to work the artillery batteries and heavy weapons, while Ilia trained the nightkin along with Davison on their tactical prowess.

For the next two days, they trained and trained until their muscles were sore, Ilia working on using her semblance and Blake on new ways to use her semblance. By end of second day, they received a message from The Courier.

"What does it say?" Ilia asked as she peered over Blake's shoulder.

"Be ready in two days to attack Hoover Dam," Blake said, looking up at her lover. "We should get to bed." Ilia nodded as she led Blake over to their shared place of rest. The two girls cuddled up, Ilia tightly grasping onto Blake. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm scared, Blake. What if we die? This isn't going to be a normal mission. We'll be in the thick of a battle between three sides. If we can survive this, then the threats in Remnant would be nothing. I don't want to lose you, Blake," Ilia professed as Blake pulled her into her breasts.

"Ilia, we'll be fine. Now just enjoy yourself," Blake responded has she felt Ilia wrap her arms around her waist, nuzzling her face into Blake's rack. The cat faunus gave off a soft moan as Ilia inadvertently stimulated her nipples, hardening them.

"Mmmm. Your breasts are so soft, Blake. That's why I love them so much," Ilia hummed as she tightly gripped Blake's breasts as she felt the cat faunus' heavy, aroused breaths on her shoulder. "You know, you're quite the dirty girl, Blake," Ilia teased with a smirk as she continued to make Blake's pussy soaked. Blake's tongue hung out of the side of her mouth as her eyes rolled back.

"Mmmmmmm!" Blake yelped as she felt Ilia's tongue swirling around her nipples as the cat faunus' body twitched repeatedly. "Y-y-your m-making m-m-m-me c-c-uuuuuum!" Blake shouted as Ilia grinded her hips on Blake's clit.

"Not yet my love," Ilia said as she cupped Blake's cheeks. "You'll cum when I'm ready, you dirty slut."

"I-I'm not a s-s-slut," Blake protested as she came, much to Ilia displeasure.

"Now you've done it! I'm going to give you your punishment now," Ilia said as she went into the next room, retrieving a special toy. When she appeared, Ilia had a two-way dildo. Ilia hopped onto the bed, shoving the sex toy into Blake's cunt, turning it on. The toy vibrated as Blake started to beg for sexual mercy.

"I'm sorry, Ilia! I won't cum until you say ever again!" she pleaded.

"Ok… but for tonight, I'm going to make sure you're depleted," Ilia teased as she increased the intensity of the vibrations.

"Aaaaaah! I'm cuming! I'm cuming! It feels so gooooooood!" Blake moaned as she came four times in a row. Ilia put the vibrator into the max setting, then letting the other end enter her quivering pussy. She rocked her hips, moving the dildo around Blake's entrance, making her cum three more times. "I've learned my lesson, can you please take it out now?" Blake moaned.

"Nnnnnooooo!" Ilia shouted as her back arched in pleasure. "This is your punishment. This will be in us, until sunrise," Ilia explained as she came for the first time that night.

"Are you serious?!" Blake asked, receiving a nod from Ilia.

"I'm going to make your pussy numb tonight," Ilia said as she straddled Blake, playing with her limp tongue as she bucked her hips with high speed and frequency.

"I _need_ your love, Ilia!" Blake proclaimed, giving off her final ejaculation as she gave off a final, grand moan. She went limp as Ilia gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. However, what came next, Ilia didn't expect. With one, fluid motion, Blake flipped Ilia onto her back as Blake took the top, straddling Ilia.

"Ilia, since I'm so numb now, you know what that means?" Blake asked with a lecherous smirk.

"Please, fuck me!" Ilia begged.

"Of course, honey," Blake answered, giving her a single, powerful thrust, Ilia moaning loudly as Blake continued to slowly fuck her. Her panting continued, as did the thrusts.

"Finish me off already! Fuck your slutty subject dry!" Ilia begged as Blake began to kiss her subject on the neck. Then, she reeled back, and with a powerful lip lock, Blake _slammed_ the dildo into Ilia, forcing the chameleon faunus to release all of her natural lubricant as she continued to cum, holding onto Blake. The two girls cuddled as the dildo continued to fuck them throughout the night.

"I love you so much, Ilia. I'm so glad we could become something more than friends."

Ilia snuggled up closer. "Yea, I am too."

AN: Yea, I put another Lemon in, what can I say? I like this pairing, lol. The comms system that Blake and Ilia used to communicate with is short range and housed within their enclave power armor helmet, in case you were wondering.


	28. Out of the Mojave

Amnia Amores-Percussit

The young lady cuddled up to Adam as his arms wrapped tightly around her, seeking his warmth and love. Amnia kissed him on the cheek as she fell asleep in his arms. " _He's so cute when he sleeps!"_ she thought, feeling Adam's breath brush up against her neck. " _If this works out, maybe we could become a nice little family. Yea, that would be nice,"_ Amnia thought as she drifted off into sleep.

A blinding flash occured, then she saw Zion in all its glory. She saw Adam and Brutus leaving the national park for supposedly greener pastures. She tried to follow them, but no matter how fast she ran, Amnia couldn't keep up. "Adam, take me with you!" Amnia shouted, reaching her hand out. Just as she thought that Adam was going to leave her, he turned his head and started walking towards her. As he got closer, he opened his arms up. She ran to him, jumping into his arms, peppering him with kisses as he chuckled in amusement.

"What were you doing just waiting here? Brutus and I were waiting for you!" Adam asked.

"I-I don't know…" Amnia responded.

"Well, dear, you don't need to worry anymore. I'm here for you," Adam stated as he let her down. Suddenly, Adam was struck on the side of the head by a busty blonde brawler from above. Her and Adam engaged each other in one on one combat. Eventually, the young blonde downed Adam, holding her shotgun gauntlets threateningly over his head.

"Get away from him!" Amnia shouted, throwing her throwing knives at the young lady. The knives were deflected by some type of personal shield. The brawler charged her, and when Amnia thought she would receive a fist full of pain, she woke to the sound of Adam shaking her.

"Amnia? Are you ok? You were mumbling something in your sleep," Adam explained as she looked up at him.

She began to blush, trying to hide it behind her hands. "N-no I'm fine," she nervously chuckled. "I was just having a dream, that's all…"

"A dream, or a nightmare?" Adam inquired, leaning in, getting closer to her face.

Amnia looked away, only to feel Adam's lips pressing up against her cheek for a gentle and warm kiss. Gave him a tight hug, a few tears descending her cheeks. "Yea it was a nightmare, but not of me," Amnia explained.

"What do you mean?"

Amnia wrapped her arms around Adam's neck, leaning in. "It was _you_ who was attacked in my dream, not me," she said, kissing him on the lips as if it would be their last time seeing each other. "It was some blonde brawler type girl. She knocked you out then came at me," Amnia said as their lips separated. "Adam, when you return to your world, are you going to take Brutus with you?"

"Yes. This world is _very_ dangerous, and mine is far safer. Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to come with you! I want to be with you, my sweet Adam. I'll be your love, and you will be mine," Amnia said as she tightly hugged Adam, not wishing to part physically with him. She heard him chuckle as he patted her on the head, soothing her anxiety for the time being.

"Alright, you can come with us when we leave for Remnant," Adam said, reassuring Amnia. The two of them went outside to see the dreadful sight of a heavy detachment of Legion soldiers accompanied by the White Legs _and_ the Sorrows, encircling the Dead Horse tribe.

"Adam… there's so many of them…" Amnia said, tightly gripping on to Adam for protection. The two of them hurried back into the cave as Dead Horse warriors charged out with their weapons drawn, only for them to be gunned down.

"Brutus! Get your things, we're going!" Adam shouted as both Brutus and Joshua revealed themselves with their things packed.

"I'll be accompanying you three to make sure you make it safely to New Canaan, from there, you'll be on your own," Joshua explained as he led them through a secret passage through Zion's extensive cave system. "Adam, I know your stay in Zion was brief, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same."

Adam nodded. "I appreciated the hospitality," Adam replied as he took the rear flank of the group. They eventually found the end of the tunnel, and walked for the rest of the day in the hot, blaring sun towards New Canaan. They were halfway there when they stopped for the night to sleep. They set up a bonfire, the smoke spreading out through the air as Amnia cuddled up with Adam. The silence of the four created a haunting cloud hanging over them. She looked up to the night sky, the stars twinkling around the full moon illuminating the group of four.

She saw an image of her younger self. Her tribe was under attack as Legion forces slowly advanced through her tribe's defenses. Amnia watched behind her as countless warriors were slaughtered before her very eyes.

"Amnia!" Amnia's mother shouted as she scooped up her four year-old self. Her mother ran as fast as she could, however it wasn't fast enough. She was cut down by multiple Legion machetes, thrusting her only child to safety as she tried to fight off the legionaries. The young Amnia ran as fast as her little legs could take her, but that wasn't very far as she tripped on a small rock.

"Heh. look at this squirt, she seems like she'd make for a good slave!" One of the legionaries cackled as he reached for her. Amnia looked ahead, eyeing a knife, then grabbing it, swiftly stabbing it into the legionary's eye. He howled in pain as he tried to stop the bleeding, but to no avail.

"Get away from me!" she shouted, brandishing the legionary's machete, slicing through the bodies of five more legionaries until she collapsed due to fatigue. The image changed to Amnia and her mother, now five years older. Only a single moment of this point in her life was displayed to her.

Amnia was sitting in a tent with her mother, when suddenly, she was ripped away from her mother and taken to Caesar. The image left as quickly as it arrived, leaving the female fighter with a reminiscent feeling of loneliness. It was then that she awoke, still holding on to Adam tightly. " _I won't let anyone harm you,"_ she thought drifting off into a dreamless sleep as she cuddled up with Adam.

The next morning the group of four set off for New Canaan, getting closer to the now ruined settlement. As they neared it, the threats started to mount against them. "We should be cautious as we get closer," Joshua warned as they rounded the ben. "I had some scouts recon the area a month ago, and they found that some wanamingo's have started to nest here along with some deathclaws."

"Wanamingo?" Adam asked.

"A black, alien, biped like creature that has some tendril like appendages for arms," Amnia explained.

Adam nodded, as he kept on walking. "Are they as much of a threat as a deathclaw?"

Joshua nodded. "In packs they can be quite dangerous, but on their own they aren't much trouble," he explained. "As opposed to deathclaws which can be a threat all by their lonesome," Joshua finished. Just as he concluded his explanation, three large wanamingos jumped out from around the mountain's bend. Adam cut the head off of one, only to receive a powerful blow to the side, knocking him to ground. Amnia rushed one of the remaining two, taking out a handmade knife spear, stabbing the wanamingo through the mouth, only for it to bite off the spear, spitting out the remains.

It lungest at her, swinging its limbs like flailing bludgeons. She ducked and weaved out of the way of the creature's natural weapons. Amnia took out a hatchet, chopping off one of the limbs, only to be struck by the other one in the stomach, stunning her for a few seconds. The raven-haired survivalist received a powerful strike to the head knocking her to the ground. Just as that wanamingo and its friend were about to kill her, both Joshua and Brutus jumped into action, Brutus stabbing the unharmed wanamingo in the throat with his machete, then blasting its head off with his sawed-off shotgun. Joshua took out her personal .45 pistol, finishing off the injured creature.

"Joshua, how far away is New Canaan?" the raven-haired survivalist asked, carrying Adam over her shoulders.

"It should be just around the corner," Joshua said as he scavenged some wanamingo meat, storing it in a leather pouch. They eventually reached their destination, the ruined buildings and broken roads leaving the down in dire straits.

Out from behind some rubble, two deathclaws lurched out, a thick layer of blood coating their claws and teeth. Both of the deadly creatures turn to face Amnia, her face stricken with horror as she palmed her survivalist's rifle. The stare-down lasted only a few minutes until the deathclaws moved on as if Amnia and co were snacks that they were too full for.

"Why didn't they attack us?" Amnia asked, only for Joshua respond.

"Deathclaws are territorial creatures, and these must have been on a hunt out of their territory, which is why they aren't going to hunt us," the Malpais Legate answered. They heard a scream from behind the ruined building that the deathclaws had emerged from. Brutus kept his weapons drawn as he slowly turned the corner, only for him to scurry back the way he came, a look of sheer terror on his face.

"Th-th-there's a creature back there! I-i-it has the faces of humans, but it doesn't look human!" Brutus stammered as he sought the comfort of Amnia, tightly wrapping his arms around her waist.

She looked up to Joshua, who was looking around the corner, only for a glob of bile to be shot at him. "Its as I thought, it looks to be a proto-centar," Graham said as he beckoned Amnia and Brutus to see. It was a fusion of what looked to be multiple deformed human bodies, six arms and legs acting as a feet for the abomination, and some more arms as hands as it munched on its most recent meal. However, the abdomen of the creature was so wide that the legs couldn't support the body. It writhed around on the ground as Amnia aimed her survivalist rifle, unloading an entire clip into the abomination, the thing giving out a final, disgusting cry.

Amnia's face contorted with disgust as she comforted Brutus as she turned to ask Joshua a question. "How many more of these repulsive creatures exist?"

Joshua sighed, answering her inquiry. "How many there are, is unknown, but I _can_ tell you their source, Vault 87. Luckily for those under Legion rule, all of the centaurs and mutants were eradicated before coming occupied lands. However, those who were near any of the vaults that housed those type of experimentation weren't so lucky. New Canaan was one of those settlements, it took years to make it a safe place, and after it was attacked it became infested once more."

"So, are we going stay here?" she asked, Joshua shook his head.

"No, we must move on to greener pastures. However, we can stay for the night. Lets prepare the fortifications for our encampment," Joshua recommended as Brutus dragged Adam behind a wall, propping his body up against a wall, then moving some larger pieces of rubble to form a barrier of sorts, while Joshua and Amnia cleared the area of any further threats.

As the sun began to set the three of them got ready for bed. Amnia cuddled up with Adam, who began to wake. "What happened?" he asked, facing a smiling Amnia.

"Too much." suddenly, the four of them were engulfed in a blinding light. Once the light dispersed, Amnia realized they weren't in the wastes anymore. They were in a throne room adorned with white banners that had the image of a red beast's face with three claw slashes over the creature's face.

"Adam Taurus, where the hell have you been?" a woman with tanned skin and two feline ears with golden ear rings in them asked. "And what are you doing with these _humans_?"

AN: And that will be all for Adam's arc in the Mojave! You'll have to wait until part 2 of Sand, Blood and Fire to see where I take it. Now there's only two more stories to finish up, Cinder's, and Ilia/Blake's. To crawforddarius7, I actually intend on writing a My Hero Academia and RWBY crossover fic, but with different characters from MHA, but there will definitely be one once I'm done with this part and the second part. Also, The Second Battle of Hoover Dam, next chapter!


	29. End of the Butcher

Courier Six

" _My last day of violence,"_ Six thought as he climbed out of bed, Cinder drowsily clinging onto him, trying to keep him in the bed.

"What's on the docket for today?" Cinder asked fesescious.

"You already know. I just need to make a final call and we'll be on our way," The Courier replied as he grabbed his armor and weapons.

"Understood. I'll got boot up ED-E and Rex," Cinder said as she put on her armored dress and equipped her weapons via her Pip-Boy. Six walked over to the elevator as Cinder awoke their non-human companions. The doors closed as he pressed the button to the penthouse floor.

"Ah, it's good to see you again!" Victor said as he led Six to Mr. House.

"And it's good to hear your voice, Victor."

"You're too kind. Is there anything I can do for you?" the unique securitron asked.

"Actually, you can. I need to send a transmission to Nellis Airforce Base," Six answered.

"What for? I thought the Boomers were all dead when you arrived?" Victor inquired as he turned to face Courier Six.

"Because those who have inhabited it are building an army to assist House and I in taking the Dam. If this goes well, then Mr. House might even have a new ally that will give the area a more safe feeling," Six explained as sent his message. Then he walked over to the large monitor that housed Mr. House's visage.

"Ah, it's good to see you again, how goes it?" Mr. House asked.

"Its going quite well. In fact, my team and I are ready to gain control over Hoover Dam for you," Six said as he wore a Cheshire grin on his face.

"Perfect, go there now. Oh, and by the way, I'm aware of your little… mutant allies."

Six looked over his shoulder, the grin slowly dying as he did so. "And?"

"I'm fine with it. Just know, that hiding future things from me won't be of any benefit to you _or_ your misses," House threatened.

"I understand," Six said as he walked back to the elevator. " _I just hope we'll be able to survive."_ Six arrived back at the presidential suite, motioning for Cinder and the two non-human companions to follow him.

The four of them ventured out for Hoover Dam, taking the better part of a morning to arrive half a kilometer from the dam. Shortly after, they met up with Blake, Ilia, and their mutant army.

"Glad you all could make it," Six said, brandishing his katana.

"The feeling's mutual," Ilia said, rolling her eyes. "So where are we going to be attacking?"

"For you and your stealth troops, you'll be going under surface level to reach some power switches," Six said.

"And what exactly are these power switches supposed to do?" Ilia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Turn on Mr. House's robot army, of course. Better yet, once these robos are activated, _your_ troops will be supported by the robots that are activated."

"How many are we talking?" Blake asked as she checked over Gambol Shroud.

"Five hundred at least, seven hundred at most," Six answered. Blake looked to Ilia with her eyes opened wide.

"That's… a lot. How quickly would our stealth troops be able to reach it?" Ilia asked, looking towards Six.

"Within minutes. All you have to do after their activated is lead them through the Dam, and station them there to protect it. Once you're done with that, you can join us on the surface, as for the normal super mutants, they can assist with giving directions to the bomber. Blake, you'll be staying behind lines with them, coordinating where the bomber will be hitting," Six explained as he looked over his shoulder to Cinder.

"Everything alright, dear?" she asked, gently gripping Six's hand as ED-E and Rex followed her closer to The Courier.

"I sure hope so, I sure hope so…" Six said, motioning for Blake and Ilia to take their positions. Blake took her position behind a large concentration of boulders and rocks, setting up the portable radio equipment and a small defensive perimeter around the encampment.

Ilia joined Six's party to the dam, a large group of nightkin following close behind her. They reached the dam, Ilia and the nightkin activated their stealth boys, infiltrating the lower levels of Hoover Dam, while Six and co started their assault.

He charged forward, his katana in one hand, and his grenade rifle in the other. He fired it, blowing three NCR soldiers to bits, then slashing four across the torso with the japanese sword. A group of five NCR Ranger surrounded them, bearing assault carbines and ranger sequoias.

They fired all at once, Cinder and Six ducked, Cinder tackled one to the ground while Six bodied two, Rex and ED-E engaging the remaining two. The ranger that was fighting against Cinder threw a powerful haymaker at the pyromancer's face, Cinder dodging the blow, then countering with an uppercut she followed up with a swift knee to the groin, only to feel a hard metal plating in his nether region.

"You didn't think we'd leave _that place_ unprotected, did you?" the ranger smirked, only to be slashed in the neck by Cinder's serrated claws. She pushed his body off of her to help ED-E and Rex take care of the two rangers.

The Courier grabbed one by the head, slamming it through the blade of his katana, only for Six to be shot in the shoulder by the other ranger. He took out Chance's Knife and stabbed it into the second ranger's gut. He kicked Six down to ground, grabbing his own combat knife, stabbing it down towards Six, deflecting it with a kick. He countered it by punching the ranger in the throat, then delivering to a swift kick to the face.

' _Well that was… easy,'_ Six thought as he got up and joined his companions as a wave of gunfire rushed towards them as he and Cinder slid into cover. The Courier launched some plasma grenades at the gunner's nest pinning them down. Cinder peaked over the sandbags, looking at Six.

"There are three heavies with miniguns approaching us," Cinder said as she activated her flamethrower attachment. Six nodded as he gave her three pulse grenades.

"Make them count," Six said as he fired incendiary grenades at the heavily armored NCR soldiers. Their advance was not slowed as they started to fire at their position. Cinder poked out of cover, delivering a short and poignant burst of flame, doing nothing to impede the heavies.

"Take Rex and ED-E, I'll take care of these guys," Cinder said, holding two of the pulse grenades in her hands.

"Ok, be careful and good luck," Six said as he, the cyborg dog, and the eyebot followed him around the heavy troopers as Cinder rushed the three soldiers. The pyromancer pulled the pins of the grenades, throwing them at close range, the two electric explosions locking up the armor of the heavy troopers and disabling her prosthetic arm.

Cinder drew Maria and fired a burst of armor piercing rounds at the heavily armored troopers, downing two of the three. The third threw a frag grenade, Cinder ran for cover to avoid the explosion. The man gave one final charge, brandishing a bowie knife, frantically waving it around at Cinder. She countered, grabbing his wrist and twisting it, then delivering a killing blow via her hunting revolver.

She eventually caught up with Six, who was at the dividing barrier. "So… what now?" she asked.

"Just watch," Six replied as he called in something over the radio. Then the bomber flew overhead, blowing away their obstacle. "Get ready, we're about to face off against the Legion's best." Cinder nodded as Rex joined her side and she took out her submachine gun.

A group of hardened decanani charged the two of them with their machetes raised high. Cinder shot a thick spread of bullets, downing five of the elite Legion soldiers, four more came at her, throwing spears towards her position. The pyromancer dodged them, not bothering to block or parry them. Instead, Six sent a volly of grenades at them, blowing off their limbs and advancing further into the Legion's encampment, ED-E following behind. "Let's keep moving! We need to take out Lanius!"

Suddenly, a large wave of legionaries came swarming out of the Legate's camp, each wielding either a shotgun or a rifle. They fired upon Cinder and Six, pinning them behind cover. Before the two of them could formulate a plan, five centurions pushed them out of cover with their thermic lances at the ready. Six stabbed one through the throat and another in the eye, while Cinder was struggling to keep the remaining three off of her. As he tried to assist her, he was stopped by even more legionaries. ' _I need to get back to her! I'm not going to have another fiend incident happen again!'_ he thought as the horrific event flashed into his mind, hearing her blood-curdling screams. The Courier fought viciously, tearing through his foes as he got closer to her inch by inch.

Then a large flame erupted from the dogpile, buring about a dozen legionaries alive. Out of the pile emerged a bloody and sweat drenched Cinder, her mouth opened in a gritty grin as she charged the firing line. Six joined her, giving out a bellowing warcry as he slammed his body into some legionaries, swiftly dispatching them with his sword, then moving on to the next group. The next few minutes flew by as both Cinder and Six made short work of the defensive wall of soldiers that stood in their way. The two of them were covered in blood, be it their own or their enemies' they couldn't tell, but that didn't bog them down.

As they circled the ben, an enormous bumper sword flew towards them, knocking Cinder off her feet. A large, mountain of a man slowly revealed himself, readying for another swing. "And who might you two be?" the man asked in a deep, threatening tone.

"I am Courier Six, and this is my companion, Cinder Fall. Would it safe to assume you're the Legate Lanius?" Six asked, tightly gripping his katana.

"Indeed it would, however, before you and I can fight, your companion must be… taken care of," Lanius said, raising the sword above his head, aiming for Cinder's body.

"No!" Six shouted as the sword came down quicker than a bolt of lightning.

"What is this?! Why won't my blade go any further?!" Lanius bellowed as Cinder slowly opened her eyes. The bumper sword was only half an inch from her face, being held there by an unknown force. She quickly rolled out of the blade's path as the unknown force gave way and the blade crashed into the ground. "We cannot have a proper battle with a _woman_ here," Lanius explained. Six rushed him, readying for a diagonal strike to The Legate's shoulder, however he blocked it with ease, swatting him away. "You lack any serious discipline, you're nothing but a joke," Lanius taunted as he readied for another swing.

Six took a defensive position, and as Lanius' blade came down, The Courier rushed forward with a vertical slash, only for the blade to be caught by The Legate. He threw the katana to the side, disarming Six, only for him to pull out his grenade rifle and blast him in the chest at point blank range. The Legate staggered back, clutching his fresh wound, the metal of his breastplate now hurting him more than protecting him.

"I would have thought… that someone who once held such stature in our ranks would have been a more honorable fighter, but it looks like I was wrong!" Lanius shouted, bringing the sword down onto Six's left shoulder.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Six shot back, pulling the blade out of him.

"Oh? You don't remember? Well that explains why you aren't using your special training. It might also explain _why you killed Caesar_!" Lanius sneered as he took a horizontal swing at Six, The Courier ducking just in time to dodge it. While Lanius was focused on Six, Cinder started to reload her submachine gun with armor piercing rounds. Aiming at his legs, she unloaded the entire magazine into his right leg, crippling the limb and giving Six the opportune moment to land a hit. He did, sending his katana into the Legate's left leg, cutting it off just above the knee. His body slammed to the ground as he dropped his bumper sword. Six held his katana above his neck, ready to finish the job.

"Go ahead, Courier. Finish the job, you would dishonor this battle if you don't." Six nodded, swinging the sword down onto Lanius' neck, only for him roll out of the way, tackling Six to the ground, and delivering a powerful punch to the head, cucussing The Courier. Six's vision began to blink on and off as he watched Lanius crawl towards Cinder, tightly wrapping his hands around her neck, Cinder unable to move due to pure shock. The Legate continued to strangle her as she fell to the ground.

"No…" Six whispered as his vision began to fade. "No!" Six shouted. He felt a powerful wave of something shooting towards Lanius just before he blacked out.

When he awoke, Six realized he was in the presidential suite.

"Oh, you're awake!" Cinder said, giving him a tight, warm hug, tears streaming down her face as she began to laugh. "I thought you were gone for good, I… I thought I'd never see your eyes again," Cinder said as she wiped away her tears with a sigh. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, releasing him from her embrace.

"What happened?" Six asked.

"Right before you passed out, a pulse of sand decapitated Lanius. Once I got him off of me, I carried you back to the Lucky 38. Ilia and Blake were successful in their mission to activated the robots, and now Mr. House is in complete control of it," Cinder explained. "It may some contrived, but I think you've unlocked your very own semblance. One can only unlock one-"

"When a person undergoes extreme mental stress and pressure," Six finished Cinder's explanation. "So what do you think it is?" Six asked.

"I saw sand, and I think I remember seeing some grains of sand holding back Lanius' blade. So we can assume that your semblance is control over sand, just like mine is control over glass. Considering the element you can control, there are many ways you could use it: utility, combat, construction, etc."

"How far do you think I could go with it?" Six asked.

"That all depends on how it develops. Some people think that semblances stay stagnant, but more recent findings show that they can develop in both what they can be used for and what it can do, but that all relies on you," Cinder explained.

"Interesting," Six said as he stroked his chin.

"There's one more thing, when we got back here you received a message from someone who claims to be an old friend of yours. He wants to meet up with you, but I don't think it's for the best reasons."

"Where does he want me to meet him?"

"Some place called The Divide. Also he wants you to come alone," Cinder answered.

"Like hell if I'm going alone! For all I know, he just wants me dead and has an ambush ready at this divide."

"Fair point, it looks like I'll be joining you then. Just try not to get yourself get killed, ok?" Cinder asked, a mischievous smirk on her face.

"I'll try my best," Six replied as he drifted off into sleep. Cinder cuddled up with him and the two of them fell asleep in each others warmth.

AN: And that's The Second Battle of Hoover Dam! Yea that's right! Six is gonna do the Lonesome Road DLC WITH CINDER and AFTER THE BATTLE! Don't me. All jokes aside, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't assume that this fic is done just because _this_ setting is almost finished, that right! The second part of this fic will take place in Remnant! I'm sure that's no surprise if you all read the previous chapter. Expect a decent gap between the conclusion of this fic and the beginning of part 2. For those of you who've enjoyed reading the Blake and Ilia timeline, don't worry, that part of the battle will be covered next chapter! I hope you guys also enjoyed my rewrite of Adam. This first part was just the beginning as I intend to make Adam a _very_ important figure in the next gen of SBF.


	30. Beheading the Bear

Ilia Amitola

The young faunus awoke to Lily waking her up. She rubbed her eyes and got out of bed, putting on her armor and taking her weapons. As she walked over to the comms room, Ilia took note as the mutants and nightkin were arming up while some ghouls loaded onto the bomber. She also saw some super mutants pulling up three howitzers up a hill and aiming them at Hoover Dam.

Ilia entered the room which was guarded by two heavily armed nightkin to find Blake operating the radio systems. "Ah, Ilia. I'm glad you made it. We're heading out _now_ , I just received the call from Courier Six. Are you ready for a fight?" Blake asked as she put on her armor.

"I just got up… but I'm ready to go!" Ilia said, hyping herself up as she joined the ranks of the mutant army, leading the nightkin division while Blake lead the Super Mutant battalion. Their march took a few hours as they eventually arrived at the agreed-upon spot, meeting Six and Cinder there. She listened as Six explained her objectives. Once they were done discussing how to go about attacking the dam, Ilia watched as Six and his companions charged at the NCR positions.

Ilia motioned for the nightkin as they activated their stealth boys and infiltrated the dam through the visitors center. The few NCR soldiers that were stationed there were quickly dispatched as they moved deeper into the dam. "Ilia! Be careful! I'm seeing multiple ranger veterans entering the dam!" Blake alerted her via the coms within their helmets.

"Thanks for the heads up, we'll be careful," Ilia said as she split up her forces to cover more ground. Her and two other nightkin went down a flight of stairs to find a hallway of doors. They entered the first door, only to find out it was where the soldiers were sleeping. However, not a single one was lying in bed. Ilia pulled out her weapon, stabbing through an NCR trooper's armor, and blasting another in the face with her plasma pistol. The nightkin pulled out light machine guns, mowing down fifteen more. Three troopers charged at Ilia with their beyonetted service rifles. She parried one, dodged another, and was stabbed in the leg by the third. She pulled out the bayonet and slashed the third NCR soldier in the gut, kicking him to the floor. Ilia then wrapped her weapon around the first soldier's service rifle and electrocuted him, the second trooper being dispatched by the nightkin.

They moved through the rest of the dam, causing even more mayhem, slaughtering any troopers who got in their way. ' _Almost there, almost to the switch,'_ Ilia thought. The young faunus spotted a trooper who was running to alert his allies. She chased him down, eventually catching up to him and tackling him to the ground.

"Get off of me!" the trooper shouted as he stabbed Ilia in the side with a combat knife. She tightened her hold. "I'm not gonna die!" he screamed, sending a volley of punches at Ilia's face. She threw him against a wall, pulling out the knife in her side and throwing it into the trooper's head. He fell to the ground with a loud crash. Four heavy NCR troopers came running towards her as she cracked her whip. She wrapped her weapon around one of them, locking up their armor with a powerful current of electricity. She backed up into cover as she fired off her plasma pistol at the remaining three heavy troopers.

She switched to her multiplas rifle, firing wide spreads of plasma at them as they started to advance. The three flanked Ilia, pointing their miniguns at her head. "Drop all your weapons and come with us," one of them said, only to get his head crushed in by a rebar club being wielded by a nightkin. The remaining two heavy troopers were impaled by two bumper swords, lifting them off of the ground.

"The rooms on the first and second floor have been cleared, what should we do now?" one of the nightkin asked.

"Follow me to the switch," Ilia answered, taking the lead. As they ran through the halls, they came across one of the generator rooms, a giant space where an enormous turbine was currently being repaired. Ilia and the nightkin snuck through the catwalk, avoiding detection from some veteran rangers that were patrolling the lower levels. As she reached the switch, Ilia realized that there were hundreds of deactivated securitrons behind a thick sheet of glass. She pulled down the lever, hundreds of screens lit up as the robot army came to life, the wall of glass slowly rising as they rolled out in formation, capturing the NCR personnel within minutes.

Ilia and her group went further into the Dam, fighting through wave after wave of NCR lackies. As they made their way to the very heart of Hoover Dam, they had no idea that they would have to fight their way out of it too.

The young faunus came to the final door at the end of the hall. She opened it and entered the dark room, only to be locked in, seperated from her nightkin allies. The lights came on to reveal General Lee Oliver and seven Veteran NCR Rangers surrounding Ilia with their weapons drawn. Oliver began to slowly clap as a smirk began to grow on his face. "Well done young lady, well done! I have to admit, this little traveling circus of freaks gave the NCR higher-ups quite a scare. Hell! I ought to thank you, because if it weren't for your little mutant uprising, I wouldn't have been given _more_ men and _more_ control over the NCR forces in the Mojave."

Oliver motioned for the rangers to move in closer. "Why are doing this? Why were you attacking the mutants?! They just wanted to be left alone!" Ilia shouted.

"Really? You don't know? Back a hundred years ago, those mutants who you help, were _killing_ innocent people! Would you just leave them alone?! Would you let them kill again?!" The General shouted in anger.

"No… but-"

"This world isn't fair, incase you haven't noticed! My _entire_ family was butchered before my very eyes by a group of mutants! I begged and pleaded them to stop, but they didn't. They just kept on killing and killing and killing. There was no attempt at diplomacy, no attempt at understanding us, no. Only slaughter, only death. However, I'm no monster like them, _I_ can be merciful. _I_ can be humane, and as such… I will give you a choice."

"W-what do you mean?"

Oliver chuckled as he motioned to a few troopers that brought in a restrained Blake. The General took out his pistol, aiming it at Blake's head. "Leave. Leave the dam, leave the Mojave, and leave my sight. If you that, I will not only spare your life, but your friend's. But if you fight against me, you will not only lose everything thing you've built up, but you will also lose your friend. So, girl, what will it be?"

"Why are you doing this?! Why?!" Ilia cried, holding her head in her hands as her skin turned to a light blue hue.

"I'll tell you why! Because. War. Never. Changes," Oliver said as he wrapped his finger around the trigger.

"What?"

"War never changes! War is what made the world into this almost uninhabitable shithole that it is! War is why we can't move forward as a species! War is why my parents were killed! War is what will end this world! War has always existed, and it will never die!"

"Then why take part in it if it's so awful?!" Ilia questioned.

"Because if you want to change something, you can't stand on the sidelines. No. You have to change it from the inside out. That's why I joined the military, to change and hopefully prevent as much war as possible. So, kid, what's it gonna be? Life, or death?"

Ilia hung her head in defeat, a heavy sigh coming out of her mouth. "Life…" Oliver gave a silent nod as he put away his pistol, pushing Blake to Ilia.

"Now g-" Oliver said, only to receive a powerful piercing blow from Ilia's weapon which was launched into his chest via her semblance. She then used it to throw a veteran ranger up against the wall, only for the remaining six to aim their weapons at her. Blake took Gambol Shroud and threw it along the right side of the room, delivering lethal blows to three of the veterans, leaving the remaining three veterans charging at Ilia, the first one shoulder charging Ilia to the ground as that same veteran took his combat knife to try and stab down at Ilia. As the blade came down towards her throat, she used her semblance once again to bend the blade, avoiding the strike by just an inch, countering with that very blade as she spun the blade one hundred and eighty degrees and jabbed upwards, pushing the blade into the veteran's throat.

The remaining two charged at Ilia at the same time one wielding an anti-material rifle and the other using an assault carbine with a bowie knife as a bayonet. The two of them began to fire with their sights aimed straight at Ilia, only for her to severely bend both guns' barrels at ninety degrees, throwing off the trajectory of the bullets. The young chameleon charged forward, taking her plasma defender in one hand, and her personal weapon, Lover's Scorn, stabbing it through the second veteran's heart, and placing the barrel of the plasma defender up against the third's helmet, and pulling the trigger until the microfusion cell was depleted.

"Y-you fools! Y-you children couldn't even understand what I was trying to tell you!" Oliver spat as he started to choke on his own blood.

"And what was that?!" Ilia snapped. "Answer me damnit!" however Oliver had choked to death on his blood.

"Come on, lets go!" Ilia said as she snatched a key from General Oliver and fled from the dam with Blake following close behind. Once they surfaced, the two of them found that the securitrons had taken complete control over Hoover Dam and Cinder carrying a now unconscious Courier Six over her back.

"What happened?" Blake asked.

"We won, but Six got knocked out, so I'm carrying him back, what about you two?" Cinder asked.

Blake said nothing, looking at Ilia. "We… activated the securitrons," Ilia explained. The pyromancer nodded and went on her way as ED-E and Rex followed. "So… what now?" Ilia asked, turning to Blake.

"We should head back to Nellis," Blake suggested as they both walked back with their army. It took the rest of the day to arrive at the base, Blake and Ilia climbing on top of the barracks to watch the sunset from the rooftop.

"Blake, do you think we'll ever get home?" Ilia asked as the last bit of sunlight reached out from the horizon.

The cat faunus scooted closer to her chameleon comrade, wrapping her arm around her waist and resting her head on Ilia's shoulder. "Don't worry, at the very least, we still have each other," Blake said, giving a long, erotic kiss on the lips to Ilia, who then picked her up bridal style and carried her over to their shared bed.

They continued to kiss as Ilia moved her hands up to her breasts, gently squeezing them as Blake gave out a soft moan, tightly wrapping her arms around Ilia. The cat faunus continued to moan as her lover slowly removed her armor and shirt, leaving her breasts in the open. Ilia continued to squeeze Blake's breasts as she moaned in the chameleon faunus' ear, which only encouraged her to go further. "You're a good girl, aren't you?" Ilia whispered as Blake's eyes started to roll into the back of her head and her tongue hung out of her mouth, even more erotic moans escaping from it. "You want more?" Ilia asked.

"Hnnnnnn Yyyyeeeeessssss!" Blake moaned as she felt Ilia's hand slowly creeping to her entrance. Ilia's fingers hammered Blake's clitorus as her legs closed tightly, preventing Ilia from pulling out her hand as she felt Blake's hand in _her_ panties as she too was held in the clutches of pure pleasure.

"Bbblake! I'm gonna cum!" Ilia shouted as she found a warm comfort in Blake's embrace. She began to bite her lip in anticipation as she increased the speed at which she fondled Blake's breasts as did the speed at which she fingered her, making her moan even louder under her influence. The two girls came as their mouths locked together, a sign of their everlasting passion and love for the other. The two of them laid there as the night covered them in a serine silence that they both fell asleep to.

Ilia kissed Blake on the cheek before falling asleep. Blake combed through Ilia's hair as she heard the howl of a small pack of coyotes outside of Nellis Air Force Base.

AN: and that's the final battle of Hoover Dam! However these two story lines aren't finished yet! No! No! No! We still got three, yes _three_ more chapters to go until the epilogue chapter! They might be a bit shorter thou. Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


	31. Divided They Fell

Cinder Fall

' _This feels nice…'_ Cinder thought as she cuddled up with Six, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. She felt him lazily wrap his arms around her, his heavy breath tickling her cheek. She nuzzled up against The Courier as she combed her fingers through his long, brown hair.

Her pip-boy began to ring, as Cinder remembered she had set an alarm. "Aaaah! Turn it off!" Six moaned as he covered himself with the blanket.

"You know we have to go today, honey," Cinder said, coaxing him out of bed. He eventually caved in and got out of bed, both of them grabbing their things as they left for the unknown destination. "So how long of a walk do we have?" Cinder asked as she put on her cowboy hat and armored dress.

"Well, considering we'll be traveling through the Northern Pass, it should only take four hours for us to get there. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you a few things about your world," Six continued to for the rest of the journey, Cinder answering his myriad of questions that were budding within his mind.

"This is just some wreckage…" Cinder said, clearly unimpressed.

"Well… this is where the map marker said we should go," Six said with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you sure you didn't have the wrong quest selected?" Cinder asked, peering over at his Pip-boy.

"No, this is the one. We shouldn't waste time, lets go!" Six said, climbing through the canyon wreckage. Cinder followed, climbing through the spider web of metal and rebar.

"Hey Six…" Cinder said softly as her vision began to waver.

The Courier looked back at Cinder, quickly backtracking to reach her. "Cinder!" he shouted, grabbing onto her arm as she began to slip from her grip on a piece of metal. She looked down to see a tiger pit of metal steaks. Then everything went black.

An image of a large castle began to form, the immense structure being torn from the inside out by flames, the windows seems to breath fire as the rest of the building was consumed by it.

"Where am I?" Cinder asked, surprisingly receiving an answer as the many broken shards of glass began to form a face in front of her.

"You are in the present," the face replied.

"What are you talking about?! Where is this happening? Why is it happening?" Cinder asked, firing off many questions.

"This is within _her_ domain, and it is happening because of your absence," the glass face replied.

"Salem…" Cinder whispered.

"Hm?" the face asked. "I don't have any ears, so you'll have to speak up."

"I said Salem!" Cinder shouted, no longer afraid of her false mentor. "The woman that made most of my life a living hell! That disgusting… thing! That's who it is!" Cinder screamed.

"It seems you've changed since last we met, and for the better," the glass face smiled.

"Wait. We've met before? Where?!" Cinder asked.

"You don't remember? Well then, allow me to show you." The glass face disappeared, and in its place a new image began to form. It was of the night Cinder's parents were killed, and Cinder had collapsed in fatigue. A glass figure with a quiver and bow on its back, a spear in its right hand and a shield in the other guarded her sleeping form like a sentry. Two ursa slowly approached the young Cinder, smelling her sadness and fear. They slowly circled their prey, making sure she would be an easy kill. As one of them got closer, the glass sentry took a crouched fighting stance.

The ursa lept towards Cinder, only to receive a spear through the torso, the primal beast roaring in agony. The sentry pulled it out and blocked a swipe from the second ursa's claws. It made a wide slash with the spear, the black blood of the grimm spilling out of their wounds. The two creatures of darkness collapsed and the glass sentry returned to his post.

"You protected me… what are you?"

"I am part of you, I am what makes you… you," the presence explained.

"So you're my soul?" the pyromancer inquired, receiving a nod from the glass face. Suddenly the entire place began to shake, and Cinder awoke from her vision.

"Oh, thank the sands!" Six shouted as he wiped his brow. "I thought I had lost you there," Six said in between panting breaths.

"What happened?" Cinder asked as she dragged herself up from the ground.

"It must be the air. I felt a bit weak the deeper I got into the wreckage. I thought you'd be able to handle it. Sorry I didn't tell you about it."

"Its fine, I feel a bit more adjusted to it now, but in the future, make sure to tell me. Afterall, I'm still a woman," Cinder said, dusting herself off and looking around. "Is this what's on the other side of the wreckage?" the pyromancer asked, peering down the ominous cliff.

"Yup. The only way forward is through those metal doors" Six informed her, pointing at the metal doors in question.

"Well, let's get going."

The two went on their way discovering the metal bunker to be a now vacated missile silo. "This place is…"

"Creepy?" Cinder finished, finding a terminal.

"Yea… I'm getting all types of bade vibes from this place," Six said with a shudder as Cinder started to boot up the terminal, a small humming sound coming from the back of the computer. Then she was suddenly yanked away from it as the terminal exploded.

"Thanks for the save."

"No problem, let's keep on moving," Six encouraged as they trekked onward. They ventured deeper into the silo until they reached a larger metal door. As Six went over to open it, a tripwire was activated and two sentry bots rushed out of holding areas hidden within the walls. The first slammed into Cinder, knocking her to the ground and the second one rotating on its joint that connected the treads to the torso, slamming The Courier into the wall.

The pyromancer activated her robotic arm, using a newly added feature of her weaponized arm as a small tesla coil emerged from the palm. She grabbed onto the minigun arm of the sentry boy, disabling the weapon, but not the missile launcher.

"Hostile spotted," the heavy robot stated as it aimed the missile launcher at her. She ducked, evading the missile and countering by unloading an entire magazine from Maria into the chassis, only for them to richete off of it. Flames erupted from her biological hand, blasting it at the hostile guardian robot, overheating its energy cores. The robot whirled into a frenzy as its targeting computer started to fail, the heavily armed sentry attacking its counterpart until both of them were nothing but scrap metal.

"Enjoying that new addition?" Six asked as he opened up the eyebot pod.

"Yes, it has potential. We should keep moving." the eyebot floated over to Six as he directed it to follow him. They moved deeper into the silo. They moved into the evacuation tunnels, the corpses of red-skinned humans littered around it.

"What happened here?" Cinder asked as she closely examined the remains of a deadly battle.

"I… don't know. I've never seen these types of ghouls. Their skin was so cleanly ripped off, instead of it flaking off like a normal ghoul," Six explained, pulling out a bowie knife from the torso of a corpse. Cinder and Six ventured forth

They exited the bunker and found an abandoned town. The two of them took refuge in the nearest building, only for three of the red ghould to leap out and attack them. Cinder slashed the throat of one with her serrated claws, finishing him off with a few shots in the torso. Six rammed into one, while blocking a powerful blow from the last with his katana. The pyromancer snapped the neck of the second ghoul while The Courier stabbed his sword through the final foe's chest.

"You alright?" Six asked with a chuckle.

"I should be asking _you_ the same thing," Cinder retorted as she looted the bodies.

"Wait, is that…" Six mumbled as he took a closer look at their armor.

"What?"

"Their armor… its both NCR and Legion! Their must have been a battle or catastrophic event to cause those two sides to be working _together_. Something isn't right." Six look towards the door with his weapons raised.

"So you've realized it?" a voice said, emanating from the eyebot.

"Who are you? Are you the one who sent out that message?" Six asked.

"I am, and I recall telling you to come _alone_. You will reap what you sow, courier," the voice answered with a low tone.

"You still haven't told me who you are!" Six shouted, receiving only an amused laugh in return.

"Your answers will come in due time." The eyebot continued to beep and boop as if nothing had happened.

Courier Six turned to face Cinder. "Does that voice sound familiar to you?"

She shook her head. "No. We need to keep moving and find this man." The two of them exited the building, soon encountering another group of hostiles. Cinder took cover behind a ruined building while Six hid behind a wrecked car. Heavy gunfire rained down on them as Cinder took a plasma grenade and lobbed it towards the enemy entrenchments. The explosion rocked the area, eliminating the threat and allowing Six and Cinder to move out of cover.

Three rockets were shot at Cinder, who received a spread of shrapnel that cut into her abdomen. Six shot a grenade at the roof of the building, taking out a gunner and stunning the one using the rocket launcher. He dragged her back to cover, and injected her with a stimpack, healing her wounds.

More rockets shot towards their position, debris and rubble exploding around them. Cinder took out Maria and started firing blindly at the source of the rockets while Six patched up her wounds.

More marked men charged their position with blades and guns in hand. Two flanked to the left, holding bowie knives in each hand. Six took his katana, piercing through the arms of one, and blasting the other back with his grenade rifle, then pushing down in a swift and fluent motion, cutting off the first one's hands. The second one recovered from the first blast, only to receive a second one to the head, his brain matter and skull fragments flying everywhere.

Cinder got up and the two of them activated a stealth boy as they charged the enemy's position. Cinder ran up the improvised ramps, slashing through any foe that dared to get in her way, while Six held the attention of the rooftop gunners by throwing frag grenades at them.

She reached the top of the building, quickly dispatching the remaining enemies. Six quickly joined her, taking a liking to the rocket launcher. "Red Glare? Interesting name," he pondered as it was deposited into his inventory. Once they were done looting the area, they continued on, eventually reaching an abandoned tunneling cave. "Shall we?" Six asked as he walked over to the lift.

"I don't see why not," Cinder replied as The Courier activated the lift. Suddenly, black skinned, white-eyed creatures crawled out of tunnels that emptied into the main cavern. Two of them lept at Cinder, their claws digging into Cinder's arm. She shrieked in pain as she grabbed her submachine gun, blowing them away. "What the hell are these things?!"

"Lets just call them tunnelers," Six said as he decapitated three more with his japanese sword. They continued to desperately fend off the tunnelers. Just as they started to evacuate, the cave began to collapse, separating the two of them.

"Six! Can you hear me?" Cinder shouted as she looked for a crack in the wall of rubble.

"Yea! Are you alright? I'm fine!" Six bellowed.

"Yes, honey, I'm fine. It doesn't look like there's any way for us to reunite here, I'll find another way to meet you. Is there any way you can let me know where you are?" Cinder asked.

"Yea, there's a sharing option for quest objectives and markers. If I complete the quest or one of its objectives, It'll let you know as well!" Six shouted.

"Alright! I'll see you soon!" Cinder said as she started her journey.

AN: Alright! That's the chapter! I was thinking about this happening so that Cinder could have a Lonesome Road of her own, reflecting on her time in the Mojave and what's to come. I also like the idea of have elemental semblances be able to take human forms like Stands in Jojo's bizarre adventure. Btw, Jojo's is 200% worth your time as it gets better the more you watch, please drop a review if you see a problem, liked the chapter, or have an idea. Next up: Ilia and Blake's final chapter in the Mojave!


	32. Show No Mercy

Ilia Amitola

The young woman shifted in her sleeping position atop Blake, who had her arms wrapped around body, keeping Ilia on top of her. Ilia felt Blake's tickling breaths on her neck as her lover nuzzled herself into her collar. "Hey, Blake… do we have anything to do today?" Ilia asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Now that you mention it..."

"Argh! I wanna sleep in!" Ilia whined as she tightly held onto Blake.

"Ilia… we _have to_ get up," Blake said as she rose from the bed, Ilia giving off an annoyed groan. The two of them put on their equipment, getting ready for their trek.

"What are we doing today?" Ilia asked, throwing the strap of her plasma rifle over her shoulder.

"I've gotten word from the far west scouts that the Fiends have been attacking our caravans. So we're going to take out their leaders," Blake explained.

"Who are they exactly?"

"Well they're a total of four of them, Violet, the attack dog tamer, Driver Nephi, the melee based attacker, Cook-Cook, the flamer using defiler, and Motor Runner, the leader of the fiends that's holled up in that vault we went it before," Blake answered.

Ilia nodded. "So which one are we going after first?"

Blake pondered on the question before answering. "Violet. Based on where she is, we could take her out from a distance, and I've modified my laser rifle into a laser sniper rifle. We could also use it to take out Driver Nephi, as he tends to be quite deadly at close range, and I've even heard he can close a distance of one hundred feet in a matter of seconds," Blake explained as she put on her helmet.

"What about Cook-Cook and Motor Runner? Cook-Cook looks dangerous and Motor Runner is in a confined area where a long range weapon wouldn't be very practical," Ilia pointed out as she picked up two pictures of the aforementioned leaders, examining their features with laser-point precision.

"Don't worry, I have something for them as well. I also made your plasma caster fully automatic and with a higher automatic rate of fire. I also made a plasma assault carbine with increased magazine capacity," Blake said, handing her Ilia the modified plasma rifle.

"Alright, lets go," Ilia said with a smile as she equipped her Enclave Power Armor. The two of them loaded up on a Vertibird with missile pods equipped on it. It lifted off and flew to the New Vegas Ruins, unleashing the entirety of the missile pods onto Vault 3, almost collapsing the entrance and leaving a leaking hole in the thick metal door. Then it touched down in the outskirts of the ruins, letting Ilia and Blake off and flying away.

They moved quickly and quietly through the camp, stealthily dispatching the guards and finding a sniper's nest close enough to Violet's camp. Blake took out her laser sniper rifle and peered through the scope, getting a good look of the landscape. She saw the dog trainer pacing outside her kennel, feeding her dogs.

"Found her," Blake whispered as she inched her index finger to the trigger. The teenage cat faunus fired, the focused laser hitting the dog breeder in the right lung as she fell to the ground, clutching her wound. "Shit, she fell down behind cover! Make sure our position is protected," Blake commanded, Ilia took her weapon, Lover's Scorn, in one hand and her automatic plasma rifle in the other as two fiends wielding pool cues charged the position. Ilia fired Lover's Scorn at the first, hitting him in the chest, following up with a three round burst with the plasma rifle. She received a powerful blow to the back of the head by the second, Ilia staggered back, blocking a second strike, using her semblance to push him back by shooting the metal in the fiend's armor back.

"You like the sight of your own blood?!" he bellowed, only to have his face melted off by another burst of plasma.

"Ilia, is everything ok?" Blake asked as she continued to peer through the scope, firing a second and third shot at Violet.

"Yea, is she dead yet?" Ilia answered.

"She will be soon, just keep it up!" Blake encouraged as she reloaded her laser sniper.

"I could help speed it up."

"How?"

"Just watch," Ilia said with a confident smirk on her face as she focused on the metal trailers, a heavy look of strain on her face as the trailers started to slowly move out of the way, giving Blake the opportunity to eliminate the fiend's source of attack dogs. Blake gave a sigh of relief as Violet dropped dead.

"Alright, one down, three to go," Ilia laughed, only for the second fiend leader to rush their position. "Driver Nephi?!" Ilia said, blocking his driving iron with Lover's Scorn just in time.

"That's me! Now die!" he shouted, pushing Ilia back only to receive a powerful shock of electricity. However, the electricity had no effect on the crazed fiend leader. " _He's so hopped up on drugs, he can't feel pain!"_ Ilia though as she released her block and ducked, using her semblance to bend his favorite weapon. Ilia tackled him to the ground, sending a flurry of heymakers at his head, only to be countered by fierce kicks to her ribs. She rolled away, just evading a powerful stomp to her head. Nephi managed to grab a broken shank of metal, stabbing it down at Ilia's gut. " _Shit! I won't be able to block it!"_ Ilia thought, only for Driver Nephi to collapse dead on the ground next to her, a victorious Blake looking up from her weapon, a small trail of steam emitting from the barrel.

"You alright?" She asked, helping Ilia to her feet.

"Nothing I can't handle. Who's next?"

"Cook-Cook," Blake answered with a shudder.

"Wasn't he the one who-"

"Yea. Let's just get it over with," Blake said. The two girls moved over to the infamous fiend's territory with the utmost caution.

"I think I see him," Ilia whispered, pointing in the defiling fiend's direction.

Blake looked over and nodded. "Yup, that's him alright. How do you want to hand him?" Blake asked.

"I have an idea, but we'll need to get close to him for it to work…" Ilia explained.

"How close are we talking?" Blake asked.

"The range of that flamer close. Do you think you can do it? With your semblance, you can lead him away from his men and then I'll deliver the final blow."

"Sounds like a good plan." Blake did as Ilia said, luring Cook-Cook away from his division and closer to Ilia. Everytime he got close enough to grab her, Blake would activate her semblance to escape his clutches in the nick of time. Ilia focused as the rapist fiend got just within her semblance's range.

"Hey you fat, putrid fuck! Come and get me!" Ilia shouted as she descended from the slope. Cook-Cook swiveled his head in order to face the young chameleon faunus. He shot out a ball of flame, only for Ilia to close the nozzle by use of her semblance. With nowhere for the now flaming gasoline to go, the third and final commander of Motor Runner's army was killed as the gas tank held on his back exploded, engulfing him in a raging torrent of flames. The two girls watching in fulfillment as the monster of a man burned to death, his horrifying screams of pain heard only by them as the flame of his life was finally snuffed out.

"Now, Motor Runner… do you think we should even risk it?" Blake asked, looking to her lover for an answer.

"We have to. If he isn't killed, then he could just appoint new commanders and wreak even more havoc. If we can kill him, then their entire command structure will be destroyed and they'll be picked off by House's securitrons and our patrols. Don't worry, after this, I'll treat you to some fun in bed," Ilia flirted, giving Blake a wink.

Blake gave a shy laugh as the two of them neared the ruined entrance to Vault 3. "We should be careful though, considering what our transport did to their base of operations, it wouldn't be surprising if they were swarming the area." Blake warned as they neared the accursed vault.

"By the the great creator! There must be at least thirty of them!" Ilia said in a hushed tone as she took out something from her travel pack. "Good thing is still have some of these," Ilia exclaimed, giving Blake three plasma grenades, keeping four for herself as they crept atop the ruined buildings. They each took positions one hundred and eighty degrees away from each other and gave the attack signal, each of the pulling the pin and throwing the highly dangerous plasma grenades, the green explosions using the heated explosion to rip through the flesh of the fiends. Ilia took aim shortly after with her modified plasma rifle, a stream of blasts of plasma into the panicking hositles, mowing them down with precision and tactfulness.

A missile flew directly towards Ilia, who took Lover's Scorn, grabbed onto the missile, and threw it back at the sender, a high yield explosion rocking the fiend positions by breaking through their ranks.

"Blake, be careful! These fiends are far more organized than before!" Ilia warned over the comms system. Blake gave a thumbs up as she threw another grenade down towards the remaining fiends. Another missile was shot near Ilia, however, it the rubble beneath her. Ilia fell down the ruined slope towards the fiends as Blake held her position atop the pile of concrete with a rapid spread of lasers from her gatling laser.

Ilia shot at the nearest fiends, stabbing the other fiends with Lover's Scorn. She slowly marched through the lieges of foes, making short work of the defensive force outside Vault 3. "All hostiles have been eliminated, You're safe to come out of cover, Blake," Ilia said over the comms.

Blake slid down from the high ground to meet up with Ilia. "You ready to dive into the labyrinth? It could collapse while we're in there," Blake asked.

Ilia took Blake's hand and smiled. "So long as I'm with you, I can do _anything_ ," Ilia said as they walked together, holding up their respective weapons as they climbed through the destroyed vault door, gunning down the fiends at the door. Their hands parted, grabbing their pistols, advancing to the corridor. They made their way through the vault, slaughtering any who would hinder their path. After an hour of meandering through the vault, the found Motor Runner in his chamber. They noticed the two dogs standing at his side.

"So, I wondered who it was killing my lieutenants. Turns out it was just two little girls, just goes to show you how weak they truly were in the grand scheme of things," Motor Runner said as he stroked the backs of his loyal hounds.

"Your reign of terror is at an end, Motor Runner!" Ilia proclaimed as she aimed her automatic plasma rifle at his head.

"Oh please, don't be so black and white with things," he complained as he held his head in his hands with boredom.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"I wasn't always like this, so don't you dare go around speaking ill of me! My entire family was slaughtered by raiders. There was no NCR, no Legion, no Mr. House. Just me, my dead family, and some settlers. So I banded them all together to defend our settlement from a second raider attack, but the raiders won and I joined up," Motor Runner explained.

"So? You aren't justified in what you've done!" Ilia shouted.

"Yes I am. Nature holds no moral compunction. The only law of nature is survival, and that is the only law I have abided by, and I've managed to live this long. In a world where civilization was nearly obliterated, _anything_ is excusable for survival. So don't go preaching to _me_ about morality!" Motor Runner shouted. Suddenly a loud noise came from above as the Vault started to collapse in on itself.

"Just kill me, I'm tired of living in this cursed world," Motor Runner begged as his dogs started to whine. "Its alright boy, It'll all be over soon," he said as he shot both of his canine companions in the head. "Don't be surprised, I just didn't want them to suffer. They got a quick, near painless death, _now end me_ ," Motor Runner commanded, leaning his head towards the barrel of the plasma rifle.

"I… I," Ilia said, speechless.

"Jesus Christ, do I have to pull the fucking trigger myself, too?" Motor Runner said with irritance. "Maybe if I kill your friend, then you'll kill me!"

"No!" Ilia shouted as she held down the trigger, making his face unrecognizable.

"Ilia, we need to get out of here before we're caved in!" Blake said with desperation.

Suddenly, a bright white flash engulfed the room. Once the light died down, the two girls fell down onto a hard wood floor. A person rushed into the room and an unfamiliar voice greeted them.

"Blake, is that you?" a male voice asked.

"Dad?" Blake asked, looking up to greet him.

"Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you! And Ilia, how have you been?" Ghira asked, giving the two of them a warm hug. "Kali, come here! Our daughter's returned!"

"Oh, Blake!" Kali said, tears welling up under her eyes as she joined the hug. The four of them were eating dinner and catching up until the doorbell rang. Blake and Ilia got up to accompany Ghira to the door.

"Corsac. Fennec. What are you two doing at this time of night, and who's that behind you?" Ghira asked with a sceptical frown.

"Ah, yes, a human which has been of the utmost help to us and our… pursuits. Allow him to introduce himself," Corsac said as the man stepped forward.

"Good evening Chieftain. My name, is Vulpes Inculta, and if there is anything I can do anything to make your job here easier, please, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thanks..." Ghira said nervously. "Have a nice evening." He shut the door and turned to face his daughter, who had a haunting look on her face. "Blake, dear, is everything ok?" he asked.

"No. He's part of The Legion, Ilia and I will tell you more about them," Blake said as she led her father and her lover back to the dining room. Just then, Ilia's scroll began receive many messages. "Ilia?" Blake asked.

"Its the Albain brothers, they want me to meet up with them," Ilia explained.

"Go, but be careful," Blake said as Ilia ran to the Albain house. She arrived at the house to a very concerned Fennec.

"Please, Sister Amitola, come in," he said, welcoming her in.

"Why did you call me here?" Ilia asked as Corsac came into the room accompanied by Yuma.

"Because we don't quite trust that Vulpes Inculta, and we have reason to believe he will be orchestrating an occupation of Menagerie. We'll need you to organize a rebellion against this perceived invasion with the help of the chieftain and his daughter," Corsac explained. "Yuma did a reconisance sweep of the outskirts of the city, and Vulpes' troops are camped right outside the city limits, here are the pictures," he said as he handed Ilia the photos.

"Alright." Ilia walked back to the Belladonna manor as thousands of anxious thought shot through her synapses.

AN: And that's the end of Ilia and Blake's story line in the Mojave! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope the cliff hanger I gave Y'all was good! I hope you all look forward to the final story chapter, and then the ending slide show!


	33. Untied They Stood

Cinder Fall

The pyromancer slowly crawled through one of the many tunnels created by the vicious tunnelers. She had her serrated claws out in case she needed to defend herself. After a few minutes of crawling, she found the exit, a murky ray of sun shined upon her. She shielded her eyes from the light as she crawled out of the tunnel and onto what she realized was a magnificent cliff that overlooked the ruined remains of the Divide scattered throughout the newly created valley.

" _So this is The Divide,"_ Cinder thought as she scouted out the rift with her binoculars, seeing a long, broken highway that stretched across the deep cavern. She spotted a single figure walking alone along the stone road. " _And that must be Six,"_ Cinder pondered with a smirk on her face.

Cinder heard a guttural growl from behind her. She spun around, swiping with her claws, hitting the black creature in its throat. Its waving tendrils flailing towards Cinder, one of the them slamming into her stomach, knocking her to the ground. "What the hell are you?" Cinder asked as she wiped away the blood from her face. "Now the only question is, _what_ are you?" the pyromancer quipped as she activated the flamer attachment and shot a stream of flames at the bellowing beast, burning it alive as it gave off a horrific shriek before collapsing.

She injected a stimpack into her torso and scouted a path from her current location. Suddenly a notification popped up from her pip-boy with the statement: Reach Ulysses' Temple. She opened the map function to see where the map marker was placed. Cinder hit the deck as she heard gunfire aimed in her general direction. A high caliber round pierced her left knee, crippling her entire leg as another round pierced her thigh.

She covered her mouth in order to muffle her scream of pain as she slowly moved herself behind cover as she injected yet another stimpack into her leg, watching as the flesh began to slowly heal. A marked man rushed her position with a bowie knife in hand, he took a wide swipe at her. She parried and countered with her claws, digging into his leg, swiftly ripping out of the leg as he started to bleed out.

"Who are you, and why are you attacking us?" Cinder asked, whispering it in the marked man's ear.

"We're the Marked Men, and we're going to kill you. You're nothing but Courier Six's glorified cock-holst-" he said as his throat was slit by Cinder, ending his rant prematurely as his dying body fell to the ground. She looted his corpse, finding a few flashbangs and a nail gun. She walked for the rest of the evening carefully walking along the top of the ruined buildings and crumbling infrastructure. She eventually found a spot of solid ground, and set up camp for the night. As she drifted off to sleep she thought of Six, and how he helped her throughout her entire journey. It then shifted over to her action in Remnant prior to her arrival in the Mojave.

" _Those were awful things I did back then. The only way I'll truly be free is if Salem is stopped, and the people most apt to assist me in such an endeavor would be team RWBY and co. though I doubt that blonde boy will forgive me for what I did to Pyrrha. I'll need to gain their trust, and the only way currently I could do that would be with Six by my side."_

Cinder fell asleep, remembering her indoctrination under Salem. The image of pure black transformed into a dilapidated church. A certain scorpion faunus was praying at the mantel in front of a large, purple stain glass window that displayed Salem's sigil. Salem herself led Cinder to meet the praying man.

"Cinder, this is Tyrian Callows, the head of what is colloquially called, The Cult of the Savior. I'll let you tell her the rest, Tyrian," Salem said as she left him with a young Cinder.

"Oooh! Another follower of our savior, _Salem_!" Tyrian preached. "Tell me young one, what is your name?" he asked, getting uncomfortably close to Cinder's face.

"Its… um, Cinder!" the young pyromancer said, trying to have herself be seen a courageous.

"Cinder? Well young one, I hope you are ready to help me recruit some followers for our cause!" Tyrian said as he gave her a bow and some arrows. "You'll be staying in the rear lines while I fight on the front lines, I hope you can fight! We're going to take care of some _heathens_ who have been attacking our people!" Tyrian declared as he and the young Cinder ventured forth to an unknown location. They eventually found a group of men and women in red cloaks being harrassed by some mercenaries.

Tyrian motioned for Cinder to climb up into a tree, which she did, pulling out an arrow and taking aim at one of the mercs while Tyrian sized them up. One of the cloaked figures looked up.

"Father Callows?! What are you doing here?!" a female voice asked with exasperation.

"Don't worry, daughter Sestrus. I have come here to assist you with these miscreants," Tyrian said with a scowl.

The head of the mercenaries walked up to Tyrian, a pissed off look on his face. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, freak?!" the merc jabbed, pointing at Tyrian's tail. He lunged forward, taking a broad swing with his bastard sword. The scorpion faunus ducked, stabbing the man in the throat with his stinger tail. Two of his lackies charged Salem's loyal follower, their swords drawn. Cinder released an arrow, hitting one in the knee, drawing another arrow, hitting the second one in the elbow.

"Great work, youngling!" Tyrian cheered as he activated his weapons, stabbing the attacking men with his wrist blades, killing them in the process, blood spilling out onto the ground.

"Who is that?!" Sestrus asked, pointing at Cinder.

"Why, that is our newest member. This is your sister, Sister Cinder. So, daughter Sestrus, it would please both me and our savior, the holy queen, if you could help train your newly found sister in your special technique: The Swing Arrow Strike! Your younger sister seems to proficient in archery, so she has the first step, now you need only teach her the rest," Tyrian explained.

"Of course, Father Callows!" Sestrus replied as she walked over to the young Cinder. Her soft features lowered Cinder's guard as she climbed down the tree and into her arms. Her warm embrace comforted her as Sestrus carried her to the closest sanctum.

"I'll return to your sanctum in ten years to retrieve her. Make sure she is ready to be received by our savior," Tyrian explained as he walked off. The image dissipated as her dream began to crumble and reform into a second and final form.

It was a still scene of Courier Six being run through with a sword by the blonde boy who was the head of Pyrrha's team. She tried to stop it, but she was stuck where she was, watching helplessly as blood sprayed out from Six's wound. " _NO! Not like this!"_ Cinder thought, as she was too shocked to speak. Before she could think another thing, the image broke once more as the pyromancer awoke from her slumber.

The sun blared in her face as she got up and had breakfast, munching on some Fancy Lad Snack Cakes and Dandy Boy Apples as she thought about the vision she was shown. " _I need to be careful not to be found out when I return to Remnant. There's no doubt I'll have bounties on my head considering my actions back at Haven. At the same time, I'll need to assist Six in making his own weapon and getting him a Huntsman license. I'll need to dig up some of my old contacts in the cult, so that I can get Six what he'll need,"_ Cinder thought as she finished up her breakfast, wiping her mouth clean of crumbs.

She got up from her seat, and grabbed her nail gun, loading it with a fresh magazine, pulling out her binoculars to scout her path for the day. She set out, only to receive another notification from her pip-boy. "It seems the objective has been updated." She looked at the screen, seeing the new objective that was displayed: Defend against the Marked Men. "Defend? Where could they be?" Cinder asked out loud. She took another glace and noticed an optional objective displayed on the screen: Keep Ulysses Alive. "Interesting, I should probably speed up my pace today." Cinder started on a swift sprint towards the temple. When she arrived an hour and a half later, there were half a dozen heavily armed Marked Men by the entrance of the temple.

She activated a stealth boy and her claws as she repelled down, shooting the nail gun at them, forcing them to scatter their formation. Two of them used their flamers, spewing fire at Cinder, only to be burnt to a crisp themselves as Cinder utilized her flamer attachment. Three more charged with their miniguns spitting out lead from three separate directions, forcing Cinder into cover. She pulled out her submachine gun, laying into the marked men, blood dripping from their fresh wounds. The final one charged her with a bumper sword similar to Lanius', pulling the bastard sword down, Cinder rolling out of the way of the lethal blow. She had no time to counter, as the lieutenant went for another swing, missing her my a mere inch as Cinder backed up.

"Stop avoiding you coward and fight me!" He roared, taking another swing as the pyromancer evaded the attack once more. He sent a flurry of swings at Cinder, the last of which she was too slow to dodge, so she blocked with her prosthetic arm, only to be slammed into the surrounding sheet of rock by the sheer force of the strike. Sbe reached out to grab the blade, then Cinder flung herself at the enemy, reaching out with her serrated claws, slashing his neck. Copious amounts of blood poured from his wound as Cinder flicked the blood off of her claws and entered the temple.

Cinder ran through the corridors, noticing the carnage around her as she reached the elevator. The tension began to build as the elevator rose, the sound of a fierce battle getting louder and louder. Cinder took out some flashbangs, ready to use them when necessary. The doors shot open, and Cinder pulled the pins on all of the flashbang, stunning all of the marked men in the innermost part of the temple as she shielded her eyes and plugged her ears. When she opened her eyes to see Courier Six and a man in braids fighting side by side against the roaring horde of marked men.

The pyromancer shot a ball of flame towards some hostile marked men scouts, burning them hotter than any nuke could. Then, she threw a bowie knife at the throat of one of the remaining scouts. Twenty marked men in a basic formation with four rows of five men, the first two rows wielding spears, and the last two holding shields. As the spearmen encircled her, the shield men gave them protection. Cinder readied for a fight, activating both the electricity attachment to electrify her claws, and the flamer attachment to give the claws some better cutting power. She leapt onto a shield, ripping strait through it, then jumping off as three men lunged forward with their spears. Cinder countered an incoming spear, cutting off the spearhead, and wrestling it away from him. She quickly eliminated them one by one, eventually reaching Six and the man.

"So this must be the companion you spoke so fondly of, Courier," the man said as he gripped his flagstaff with a golden eagle. "Tell me your name, woman."

"Cinder Fall, and your's?"

"Ulysses. It's been awhile since I've last seen you, Amatus. I'm glad we were able to meet one more time."

"Amatus?" Cinder asked, looking quizzically at Courier Six, then at Ulysses.

"Yea, apparently that's my name! You see, I was a courier for Caesar's Legion back in the day, which is how Ulysses knows me. And low and behold, Amator was my name!" Six said with excitement, giving Cinder a hug. She hugged him back, grateful to be in his warm embrace once more. Suddenly, a large, drape like cloth fell on top of them.

"What's this?" Six asked, pulling it off of them as he took a closer look.

"It's your new armor. I modified your old duster so that it could provide more protection. As for your companion, she can have one of my spares," Ulysses said, handing Cinder one of his dusters.

A bright white light, flashed, and the two of them saw a tear in reality, the tear showing the underlevels of Mistral. Cinder looked up towards Six, and asked him the question that was gnawing at her from the very beginning. "Six-I mean Amatus, will you come with me back to my world?" Cinder asked.

Amatus looked back at her, playfully rustling her long, silky, black hair. "Of course I will! You mentioned Salem, right? I doubt she's keeled over and died, so you'll need all the help you can get," The Courier replied, a warm smile on his face.

Cinder smiled back as she walked with Amatus through the gate. "Ulysses, why don't you come with us?" Six asked.

"I'm afraid I must stay here and make sure the Marked Men do not escape the clutches of The Divide. Best of luck to you and your companion. Before you go, take this," Ulysses said, throwing a holotape to Six, who caught it. "Play that holotape when you start to doubt yourself, Courier. And lastly, _never forget your history_." Six nodded as Cinder and him walked through the tear.

The second they were fully within Mistral, the tear closed, leaving them stranded in the Mistrilian Slums. "So… what now?" Amatus The Courier asked, looking around.

"Now you give us your lien," an unknown male voice demanded as four thugs approached them from a nearby alleyway.

"Pardon me good sir, but you wouldn't happen to know where we could get some room and board for cheap, would you?" Six asked as he palmed his katana.

"What the fuck are you saying?! Give me all of your money _now_!" the thug barked, only to have his finger cut off in a single swipe of his blade. The three remaining thugs ran off, leaving their boss behind. "What the fuck?! Y-you cut off my fingers you fuck!"

"Yea, and I could have cut off your head, but I'm feeling merciful today, so I just cut off your fingers so that you couldn't steal from anyone. A fitting punishment, eh?" Amatus asked with a smirk.

"I'll be back you fuck! You'll be a dead man, next time we meet!" the thug boss threatened, only to have the blade of the japanese sword held up against his throat.

"You shouldn't have told me that. Now, for my safety, I'm going to have to kill you," Six said as he slit the thug's throat. Once the boss was dead, Six looted the corpse, finding some lien and some spare parts before joining Cinder who was quickly putting on her newly found duster.

"Hey, Amatus, when we find a place to stay, do you think you could modify this thing to fit me?" the pyromancer asked as they walked off deeper into the slums.

AN: and that's the final narrative chapter, However, There _will_ be something at the end of the epilogue chapter. I hope you all enjoyed!


	34. Epilogue

Epilogue

 _And so the Courier who had cheated death outside of Goodsprings, had cheated death once again, and the Mojave wasteland was forever changed._

 _Mr. House's securitron army took control of Hoover Dam, and The Strip, pushing the labored NCR and the nearly defeated Legion out of New Vegas._

 _Mr. House continued to run New Vegas his way, however in the years to come, he would make a great alliance with the growing mutant army to the north east of the Mojave, joining their forces in what would be called: The Great Compromise. Eventually absorbing them into New Vegas proper._

 _New Vegas became the sole economic powerhouse within the desert, and with the added security of the super mutants, and the newly created tanks left behind by the NCR, New Vegas became a monolithic entity the likes of which were unseen in the post war era._

 _Tabitha and Rhonda went east, through Caesar's land. Occasionally tales of their exploits found their way back west, though few believed them. Eventually the stories concerning the pair were collected and published, proving to be quite popular with the children of the wastes._

 _Marcus, the now head of the mutant community that was formed in Nellis Airforce Base, lived the rest of his life helping to establish the community and normalize relations with non-mutated humans._

 _Lily's schizophrenia was cured, and the cure was distributed to the rest of the nightkin, making them a far more formidable force then they had been in the past. Lily continued to take her medication at half dosage, wondering from time to time about her two granddaughters that simply disappeared one day._

 _Jason Bright and his followers created a mutant clinic within Nellis, eventually recruiting Raul to act as a guard for the medical caravans. Over the next few years, Jason Bright would become a religious figure among ghouls, eventually culminating in the creation of a western branch of The Church of Adam._

 _Soon after the attack on Black mountain by Blake Belladonna and Ilia Amitola, Raul was able to jimmy the lock of his cell door, and escape, eventually finding his way to Nellis Air Force Base, where he found Jason Bright. After hearing of his teachings, Raul took up the position as a caravan guard for the many ghoul caravans that passed through the Mojave desert. Over time he gained the reputation of being a trustworthy navigator of the Mojave wastes. He was able to retire and die a peaceful death._

 _The Mutant army grew in both power and influence under the guidance of Mr. House, elevating them to the single most preferred guard service used by the families. With the tanks of the NCR, the mutant army was able to keep even the southern half of the Mojave wasteland safe from raiders and powder gangers._

 _With Veronica dead, and the Brotherhood of Steel's Mojave chapter destroyed, the influence the Brotherhood held over the Mojave loosened and eventually was brushed away as profiteering prospectors often combed through the ruins of the now demolished bunker in search of energy weapons and power armor, but only finding mangled and crushed corpses._

 _Cass lived to see Hoover Dam in its Old World glory, humming with power the likes of which the Mojave had never seen. Vegas burned brighter than ever, Securitrons filled the streets, and Cass's heart skipped… just a little. Her last words were to the Dam - and to herself. "We were going full speed ahead… but facing backwards the whole time." From there, Cass made the long journey back home. As she spent the night at the Mojave Outpost, she found a cute NCR soldier, and had her way with him, leaving an empty whiskey bottle behind as note. She stumbled down the Long 15, drunk, disappointed, but ultimately at peace._

 _After the assault at Red Rock Canyon at the hand of the NCR, the Great Khans were annihilated and were unable to recover, the survivors scattered throughout the Mojave, assimilating into more powerful groups in the area._

 _Rex, with the brain of one of Old Lady Gibson's dog's brain, eventually got used to the old memories, settling in the Presidential suite along with his friend, ED-E._

 _ED-E, having no Courier to direct him in what to do, he stayed in the Presidential Suite, giving Rex entertainment and in a strange kinda way, satiating ED-E's need for interaction._

 _The town of Goodsprings prospered, being a major rest stop for travelers and caravans. The town gained a friendly reputation among the Mutant Army, and would be a popular stop among the ghoul caravans._

 _With such a reputation, the town prospered, and would later develop proper defenses and become a notable settlement in years to come._

 _The town of Primm had a new, robotic sheriff, and order was restored in the small, sleepy town._

 _The Powder Gangers of Vault 19 were completely wiped out, and in their place some wasters inhabited the vault. With the natural protection of the surrounding area, it prospered from the rare to nonexistent raider attacks._

 _With Motor Runner, Cook-Cook, Violet, and Driver Nephi gone, the fiends dissipated, getting picked off one by one as their numbers began to dwindle until they were no more._

 _The NCR pulled out of Boulder City, which was rebuilt throughout the years and when it was complete, the city became a major garrison along the west side of the Colorado River that was populated with super mutants and ghouls, and the few humans who remained._

 _Ten years later, a looming, red cloud rolled over the Mojave, killing any and all living creatures that were caught in its shadow. Only those who wore tightly fitted gas masks or other type of air filtration systems were able to survive. The remaining human population became feral and hostile, killing anyone or anything that they came across. There were even tales of cannibalistic tribes forming on the edges of the Mojave. Some have speculated that those who would have inhabited the Brotherhood of Steel bunker might have survived, but due to its current condition, there's no telling how true such rumors would be._

 _Luckily, the mutants and ghouls were able to resist the effects of The Cloud, being the foremost navigators of the Mojave for visitors._

 _The NCR pulled out of every position they held in the Mojave except for the Mojave Outpost. The Rangers were also recalled from their various outposts, acting as hirable caravan guards or civilian escorts. The NCR military would occasionally send out scouting parties around the southern Mojave, but nothing ever came of such missions, and the higher ups in the NCR's government decided to avoid conquering the Mojave all together, conquering the lands south of the wastes instead. However, the deep corruption ingrained within the system of governance they had decided to take on bit them in rear, making for a slow, ineffective government._

 _The Legion, beaten, bloodied, and bruised vanished from the area, no one had any idea where they had gone to, but one thing was certain, and that was that they were gone. With Caesar dead, the Legion's 87 tribes began to argue with each other and eventually began fighting like before their assimilation, destroying themselves from the inside._

 _Due to the isolation and sanitation of Mr. House's inhabitants was, he was able to progress New Vegas to new heights, even with The Cloud looming overhead. The city was known as a shining light of hope within the dark red skies of the Mojave._

 _The Think Tank would eventually create the salvation of the Mojave, a way to purify the air. However the damage was already done, and the Mojave was forever changed._

 _The Dead Horses managed to completely wipe out the White Legs, cementing their transition from scouts, to bloodthirsty warriors. They continued to declare tribal wars with the tribes around them, their final tribal war being waged against the 80s, where is was the Dead Horses who ended up being wiped out._

 _Because war… war never changes. But people do, through the roads they walk, and the actions they take._

 _However, the story of the visitors of the Mojave and the few who left with them has yet to be concluded, in fact, it has only just begun._

Salem's Palace

"So, young lady, what do _you_ have to offer our mistress?" Wattz asked as he sipped on a cup of tea.

"Arthur, that's enough. Let our guest speak," Salem said as she turned to a young woman in her twenties who was wearing an Enclave officer's coat and desperado cowboy hat.

"Thank you, Lady Salem. Now, what I have to offer you is two fold. First, I have a standing army that can assist your religious following. Second, you will have my skills at your disposal," the woman said.

"And what is your price?" Salem asked.

"Only one thing. If a man who goes by Courier Six happens to pop up, then _me_ , _and me alone_ will be the one to kill him. That is my only price," the woman said as she played with her long blonde hair that was tied up in a long french braid.

"By the way, what's your name?" Mercury asked as Emerald walked into the room.

"My name isn't important, but you can call me Lone, or Lone Wanderer," she said, walking up to Mercury flirtatiously rubbing his chest under his shirt.

"Hey! Get off of him!" Emerald Sustrai shouted as she pushed her off of him.

"Come now Emerald, that's no way to treat your new team leader," The Lone Wanderer said as she pinned Emerald to the wall, forcing her tongue into her mouth as she gently held the green-haired girls cheeks. After a few minutes she relinquished control back to Emerald. "You aren't too bad, my little honey pot," Lone said with a smirk.

"N-new team leader?! What about Cinder?" She asked, looking to Salem for an answer.

"Cinder has been gone for a month now with no contact to speak of. She hasn't contacted you, Mercury, me, or the rest of the table, not to mention no word of her being sighted by any of member of The Cult of the Savior. As such, Lone here will be your new team leader," Salem explained.

"Don't worry, I'll treat you tenderly," Lone said as she walked out of the meeting room, only to be stopped by Tyrian.

"I don't think you're done talking to our savior just yet," he said, a sadistic smirk growing on his face.

"Really? Well then Salem, please excuse my rudeness."

"Don't worry, all you need to know is that your first destination is Mistral," Salem said as Lone took the hands of both Emerald and Mercury and whisking them off to her personal quarters with some lewd actions in mind.

AN: Alright! That's it for part 1 of Sand, Blood, and Fire. What did you think? Are you excited for part 2? Why do you think Lone wants to kill Six? What will happen in part 2? Find the answers to the last two questions by following my account on , as I'll have the first few chapters up in a month or two. Thank you all so very much for reading my passion project! SBF two will probably be titled: Pheonix or something of that nature.


	35. ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey y'all! I just wanted to let you guys know that I'll be moving all of my stories over to Archive Of Our Own. It may seem sudden, but I will let you guys know as to _why_ I'm doing this once I've transfered everything over to AO3. I'll still be posting here, but I'll just being using AO3 as my main place I'll be posting and as a backup in case this account goes down.


	36. FOLLOW UP

Hey guys here's the second announcement! I've got my AO3 account and its under the name TrinityVex36. I've posted Love Finally Found there and will start the transfer process over the next week/ week and a half. That should give me enough time to finish this all up! Thanks for understanding!

Now as for the reason why I'm moving my stuff. About a day or two ago I got a review on my most recent lemon: Love Finally Found. It was curious but alarming, saying that I had supposedly violated rules for graphic sexual content. If you guys or gals have read more than two of my stories, y'all know that I like to have my sex scenes detailed so that they can be as appealing as possible. I looked into the reviewer (Who I shall not name) and realized that I was not the first person to be contacted in this way. My story was added to a group, without my knowledge, called Reportable Lemons. I contacted this user through the PM function (which is how she should have contacted me about the policy violation to begin with), only to discover she wasn't an admin. This vexed me to no end, as she had done this to countless others, more than three thousand people to be exact. And _that_ is why I'm making the move to AO3. Thanks soooooooo much for understanding :)


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